Deadly Summer In Derry
by Hufflepuffection
Summary: 13 year old cousin of Richie Tozier is forced to spend the summer. Hi-jinx ensue, a killer clown is involved. Just another good time in Derry, Maine.
1. Intro

**AN** \- I do not own IT or the characters, except for my OC.

This is my first attempt at an IT fanfic. And before you contradict me, yes I have read the book, but it's been ages so I forgot most of it. Therefore, I shall be going off of the 2017 movie logic. Plus, this isn't going to be a serious, 50 chapter story. Probably 15 if I so choose. This is just meant to be fun.

* * *

And I also know what you're thinking:

"Oh God! Another fanfic with an OC that's trying too hard to be friends with actual canon characters!"

"Seriously?"

"Honestly, this girl better not be a Mary Sue!"

"God! Don't try and be a writer, just don't even try with IT. You don't have the talent or knowledge to write about something and/or compare it to Stephen King!"

* * *

Agreed.

But like I said, this is my first time writing something like this so if it flops, it flops, and if some people like it, thank you. AGAIN, THIS IS JUST FOR FUN! Don't take me, somewhat, seriously!

The next few chapters will be longer once I can get enough time to write. So just enjoy and be sure to review, favorite, follow, what have you.

* * *

I hate today.

Granted it was the last day of school, but I wanted my last day of middle school to be in my hometown. I missed my friends. I knew they would be having fun without me, seeing as how my parents decided it would be "best" for me to spend some time with my relatives; my father's side of the family. My Uncle Wentworth, Aunt Maggie, and my obnoxious cousin, Richard.

Not only did I get the delightful bullshit chance to spend half a year in Derry, Maine, but I also had a chance to spend a summer here as well.

Oh, my name's Nora, by the way.

Not only did my cousin completely ruin my morning, he may have seen something private...

6:00 a.m

 _Grabbing the bar of soap lying in the kitchen, I hastily made it to the bathroom before Richard attempted to use it. That whole assumption that girls take forever to use the bathroom is utter nonsense. I take 20 minutes tops if I hurry._

 _I looked in the mirror. My hair was dark, like that girl from The Breakfast Club. Due to my lack of hairstyling, I took a pair of scissors to try and imitate her. I failed. Now it's basically a permanent mess for the rest of the summer. I whipped off my pajama top, only to throw it on the floor along with my panties that were joined on top. Turning the water on at the sink, making sure it was hot enough, I started scrubbing head to toe with the hair tainted soap._

 _BANG. BANG._

 _I jumped._

 _"Come on, Nor, you've been in there for ages! Don't use up all the hot water!", yelled Richard._

 _"Delinquent", I murmured. "I'm sinking!"_

 _Sudden scuffling outside the door as I heard him pressing up against it. "You're what?!"_

 _"I'm sinking!", I yelled again, hoping he'd take the hint. Before I even had a moment to look and see if I had locked the door, it swung open._

 _The next few minutes were a complete blur; I screamed, he screamed ("FUCK!"), I threw the bar at him, he immediately shut the door and ran to his room_.

I now realize that after the incident when the two of us were having breakfast, that Richard informed me that was not the way these Tozier's showered. At my house that was how we always bathed, at the sink... sinking.

I suppose one of us had to make light of the whole situation, but that one of us was definitely not going to be me; my cousin had just seen me naked...

Today was going to suck. But enough of the slight peek of cousin incest that had just taken place. Time for a new nightmare.

School.


	2. Last Day Of School

**AN** \- Once again, enjoy, review, follow, favorite.

* * *

The warm sunlight hit Nora's face the minute her and Richie left the Tozier house to head for school. She stood on the sidewalk as he grabbed his bike.

"What a piece of shit", thought Nora. Walking beside him, she could hear the pedals making this strange clicking noise. Not the kind boys make it sound, like when they put a poker card next to the wheels. More like the cringeworthy sound you'd hear when someone would tap their nails on wood.

"Next time, take a shower like a normal person!", exclaimed Richie. "I swear, Uncle John needs to fix up that junkyard."

He was right. Her house was a dump. She couldn't argue with him about that. "Ever heard of knocking, pervert?"

Richie scoffed as he made circles around her, nearly falling off his bike as he ran over a pothole. "Hey, you scarred me for life! For all I know, I could have walked in on you having your period. Plus, you're the one who's invading my territory." He adjusted his glasses. "Maybe instead of staying at my place you can go sleep in the dump. It wouldn't be that much different from your house."

Out of anger, Nora stuck out her foot. The sudden obstacle caused Richie to run over it. How the pothole didn't cause him to crash, but her girl sized foot did seemed inconsistent. He tried to avoid the oncoming collision, but all that did was make him fall over sideways.

"You fucker!", yelled Richie, getting back up. When he looked, Nora had jogged a few feet ahead of him, laughing her head off. "Get back here!", he yelled, climbing back onto his bike. As much as he despised her in that moment, he couldn't help but smirk; for a bruise would be resting on his left elbow the next morning.

* * *

The cousins departed for their first class.

Nora realized this was going to be the last day of school that she wasn't going to be spending with her friends. Her best friend, Jamie, always let her sleepover. Maybe watch a movie or just make prank calls.

But, for now she was forced to sit in Biology and fruitlessly attempt to answer the questions. She didn't care for Biology nor would she ever grow up getting a job involving that profession. What Nora really wanted to be was one of those people that tested products. You know, hair care products or just be a crash test dummy. Either way, it would be more interesting than, let's say a teacher.

As she listened to the teacher ramble, something wet hit her on the back, plopping onto the floor.

She turned around; Greta Keane and her friends were not so subtlety snickering at her. Nora looked down, a giant spitball. Instead of giving Greta a certain gesture, she decided to ignore her.

Yep, she really missed her old school.

* * *

Around lunch, Nora found she could exit the building to eat outside without being targeted by the teachers who were patrolling the corridors. Sure, the hiding spot was behind the dumpsters but at least she had fresh air.

As she took a bite of her day old apple, she looked across the street to where a rickety old post had the same missing kid's face on it. The kid who was probably the reason for the dumb curfew. Nora had never met Betty. But she was certain that if she had the option, she wished Greta would have gone in her place, the wicked troll...

The next thing that came to mind were her parents. Now that Nora was gone, they were most likely having the time of their lives. She wasn't sure why they treated her as though she was a nuisance whenever she was with them. It was more the fact they acted as if she wasn't present in their lives.

Even when she was dropped off at Richie's house, her father simply waved goodbye while her mother told her to be good. Nora remembered when she had leaned in to kiss her mother, the window had rolled up. The car drove away faster than she could yell, "I love you".

Those _bastards_...

Laughter.

She immediately looked around. There was the sound of a man laughing. As fast as she could, she stood up to peer around the dumpster. Nobody was there. But a man's laughter rang in her ears. Being eerie like it was was enough for her to run back inside and nearly trip over the leaking sewer drain located a few inches from where she had been sitting.

* * *

Finally, it was time to go home. Let's just say the rest of her classes were complete shit, meaning the subjects were intolerable, her "classmates" were assholes, and Greta shoving her against the wall wasn't exactly the highlight of the day.

Glaring at Greta as she tried looking important, strutting down the hall making her way to the girls bathroom, she had also shoved a boy Nora had not seen very often, but remembered him from those God awful birthday parties for Richie, she was forced to attend.

Stan Uris shrugged her off as he followed after Richie, and his other friends.

Nora dared not approach but merely observed the boys exiting the school. She did the same.

She caught up with them as they dumped their school supplies into the trash cans. "Weird", thought Nora. Instead of addressing the boys, she advanced on Richie. "Richard."

Richie groaned. "Uggghhh! I thought you left already. Can't you see we're having an important man to girl, (he gestured to Eddie who glared at him), discussion on dicks!"

"Beep beep Richie!", exclaimed Stan. Apparently he thought there was an etiquette to talking about dicks with girls around.

Nora stared at Stan. Then looked at him from toe to head, head to toe, toe to head, only taking a moment to stare at his hair.

Richie coughed.

She turned her attention back to him. "You need to take me back to your house."

"Take yourself."

"I still don't know the way. The last time I tried I ended up in some jackass's yard." She didn't want to look like an idiot in front of these guys, but why should she care what they thought?

"I-it's ju-just two blocks d-d-down, then y-you make a ri-ri-right", said Bill Denbrough.

"Still stutter?", asked Nora. Bill looked taken back. "I'm not trying to be a bitch. It's just a question."

He nodded again, losing eye contact.

"So, are you taking me or what?", asked Nora.

"Just take the fucking bus", said Richie. "We're going over to Ed's house to give his mom a sponge bath."

"Richie!", yelled Eddie.

"I'll meet you guys later. I have to practice my speech first", said Stan. "My dad won't let me pass this one."

Eddie smirked. "Stanley, your dad's an idiot if he doesn't have faith in you. You'll be great."

"W-we won't get our d-d-dicks cut off, w-will we?", asked Bill.

Stan laughed. "No, you won't. It's not like that." He looked at Nora, who was very confused, and smirked. "I'm having a Bar Mitzvah, but my dad is having a ceremony first. A ritual for me to become a man. It sounds lame, but it's important to him. And me. You're free to come if you want."

Richie punched him.

"Um, yeah sure", said Nora. Her eyes fixated on his. She shook her head. "See you guys, I guess. Later prick", she spat at Richie. She made her way to the bus.

After informing the driver of her last name, she took a seat in the middle of the bus that was facing the town. It took a while for the rest of the kids to sit the fuck down, until the bus was in motion.

Feeling the cool wind from the open window was relaxing. What wasn't relaxing was a small disc like thing flew in from outside and hit Nora in the face, landing on her lap. "The fuck?", she said. Immediately looking out, she saw Richie and Stan on the ground. Patrick Hockstetter, a well known bully was hovering over Stan. The bus turned a corner.

Feeling the object, Nora realized it must be Stan's yarmulke, that thing he had to wear on his head. What were the chances it would fall onto her lap? She smiled as she felt the leather and did something spontaneous: she sniffed it.

She pictured Stan in her head... she blushed.


	3. Something

AN- Remember to enjoy, review, follow, favorite, whatever.

* * *

The four boys took to the pavement on their bikes dodging cars on the busy streets, not to mention the countless people nearly hit. Some had the gall to yell vulgar language at them, preferably the old geezers.

But they didn't care. It was summer. Nobody and nothing could ruin this kind of freedom. This was the type of freedom you did have to pay for, but the kind that just came naturally to kids.

Skidding to a halt, the boys made it to the front of the church.

Richie got off his bike, threw it on the freshly mowed lawn, walked up to Stan and punched his arm again. "Honestly-", started Richie.

Stan rolled his eyes.

"Let it go, Richie!", yelled an exasperated Eddie. He grabbed his inhaler, taking a spritz. The ride must of taken the breath out of him.

"No! Why would you let my cuz come to your 'Jewfest'?", asked Richie.

"I only did it to be considerate", stated Stan. "Besides, my dad says that if I'm going to be a man, I have to be the bigger person."

"Sounds like your dad needs to grow a new pair and nail your mom some more", said Richie, lifting his hand in a failed high five attempt because of Bill.

"M-meet us around Ma-ma-main Street", Bill informed Stan. "W-we need to ch-check the Barrens before i-i-it gets d-dark."

"Sure thing", said Stan. He didn't seem very enthusiastic about spending the rest of the day looking for his friend's brother. It's been months since George disappeared. Shouldn't it have been clear to Bill that there was no way George might be alive? Especially if he had drowned.

Stan entered the Church to see his father waiting for him. He looked frustrated.

"You're late, Stanley", said Mr. Uris.

"I know", replied Stan, a bit too monotone.

"Let's get started", said Mr. Uris, a bit too strictly.

* * *

Back outside, Bill, Eddie and Richie had mounted back on their bikes.

"Quick! Let's go before Eddie's mom eats all the good snacks!", teased Richie.

"Dude, quit it with all the mom bashing!", yelled Eddie.

"NEVER!", said Richie, trying to impersonate Freddy Krueger.

* * *

This was one of the few times Nora found herself walking around Derry, trying to memorize the landmarks, street signs, but she could never remember when she really needed it. She wouldn't be here next year, so it really didn't matter. Aside from Richie, nobody took the time to show her around; Wentworth and Maggie were always too busy with work, yet they were kinder than her parents, anyway.

Sliding her hand into her pocket, she smiled as she felt Stan's yarmulke. For some reason, it felt right that she had it. Would she give it back to him? Who knew. She debated on it, but the thought of giving it to him vanished from her mind every time she felt it. It was something he touched, he loved...

Oh God, while feeling dumb for thinking about him, was it wrong that it also felt right?

Sure, when she was 7, all the Toziers were having a Christmas party; Richie invited his three friends.

Nora had to wear the ugliest pink dress her mother had bought, with her hair in a bun. How she despised that kind of girlish complexion. But as soon as she saw Stan, wearing a suit and tie, she forgot about herself. Even for an 8 year old he was handsome.

The minute he had gotten under the mistletoe, Nora had not so subtly rushed over and attempted to kiss him on the cheek. Stan, believing in cooties had literally spat in her face and ran away.

Later it was clear to her that Stan did not like the idea of celebrating Christmas and caused any shenanigan he could to prove to his mother that he wanted to go home.

It worked.

( _HONK_!)

Without really thinking about it, Nora fell backwards to avoid being hit by the blue car that quick turned the corner and had sped down the alleyway. It took her a moment to be thankful she was unscathed.

Quickly she composed herself and stared down the smoke filled back way. Trying to needlessly swat the smoke from the gas guzzler out of her face, she noticed Henry Bowers and his goons degrading another kid.

"Get the fuck out of my town!", yelled Henry, before he threw God knows what at the boy lying in a heap of packaged goods.

After another loud _honk_ and _bang_ , the car was gone leaving another cloud, mixed with dirt and smoke.

Hesitant, Nora approached the frightened kid. He didn't seem to notice her, for he kept his eyes glued to the huge wooden door that leads into a freezer, no doubt.

"Henry-", began Nora. He jumped, finally looking at her. "-isn't worth sitting on a pile of shit." She offered her hand. Now he hesitated, but he took it, hoisting himself up.

"Thanks", he said, wiping his hands on his pants before picking up the bundles.

"Uh-huh."

He managed to collect them all, some of them from the basket on his bike and took them inside. A few minutes later he came back out. His eyes widened at the sight of Nora staring at him.

The two stood in silence for a few seconds just staring at each other. When he finally grabbed the handles of his bike and started to walk with it, she followed suit beside him, out of the way and onto the sidewalk headed towards the shops and attractions.

"How old are you?", she asked.

"I'm... going to be 15 soon."

"Nice bike. Can I have it?"

He looked at her as if to say get away from me.

"Relax, I'm not going to steal it. But I must say, it's nicer than my cousins's. His is a piece of shit", said Nora, smiling.

"Yeah...", he said, starting to pick up the pace.

Nora realized how she was coming off. "Okay, look I'm sorry if I sounded pushy. But what happened back there... are you okay?"

"Let's just say it's not the first time."

"Trust me, I know."

He stopped. Staring straight into her eyes, he now had a look of interest. "So, you saw that, too? It's not just me?" His voice became shaky.

"Of course not. Bowers makes a dick out of everyone", said Nora, confused as to why he appeared embarrassed and irritated.

"Yeah... Bowers. That's what I meant", he said, continuing to walk past the park, where a ton of little kids were playing. "Don't you have any friends?"

"No", said Nora. "Do you?"

She stopped, so did he, a little ahead, turning towards her. "No", he said, letting out a reluctant sigh.

She smiled. "Then I don't see why I can't just walk with you. Isn't that how friendships start? We talk about shit, run from assholes and later on we give rings to one another? Or is that just a bunch of bull?"

He laughed. "Only for girls."

"In that case, I'm glad I met you. I'm Nora Tozier."

"Mike Hanlon."

The two had gotten junk food and sat near Main Street, watching the cars pass by. While they sat, they proceeded to tell things about one another; Nora told Mike why she was in Derry, all the while not being very pleased about it, and he told her about his upbringing. He only mentioned that his parents died, but he didn't want to discuss how.

"At least they loved you, you know", said Nora, placing a gentle hand on his forearm. "I'd give anything if I had that." She rubbed her thumb against his wrist.

Mike smiled at the gesture, but uncomfortably shifted his arm so she had no choice but to let go. He quickly realized how dumb that was.

Changing the subject...

"So, your grandfather homeschools you? That's cool I guess. But if it were up to me, I'd never go to school."

"If that were true, you'd be stupid", said Mike, finishing his soft pretzel.

"Honestly, I'd rather be street smart than book smart. When am I ever going to need to know when George Lincoln signed the Declaration of Bills." She paused, and burst out laughing at the sight of his face. "I'm kidding."

He smirked. "This town isn't all bad for the most part, but it isn't all that good either."

"What do you mean?"

He once again hesitated. Their eyes met. "It's just that, something weird is going on. And I'm not sure if it's real or what, but it's something really, really bad."

"Yeah, all these missing kids. It's sad."

"Not exactly. But it has to be connected. I can't figure it out because it's not making any sense!", exclaimed Mike.

"Like what?", asked Nora, concerned.

"Well, I saw... a...", began Mike, when all of a sudden: ( _HONK_!)

A wave of deja vu came upon Mike and Nora as the familiar blue car, consisting of the Bowers Gang, screeched to a stop, very closely in front of the friends, who quickly stood up. "Fuck!"

Henry forced a laugh from the passengers seat. "Look boys! The trashmouth's bitch, hanging with the Nigger!" He brandished his switchblade.

Mike immediately extended his left arm in front of Nora, pulling her slightly behind him.

"What should we do?", whispered Nora, secretly wishing she also had a knife.

"Run", whispered Mike. "NOW!"

Mike grabbed his bike, leaving Nora just enough room to sit behind him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. He didn't have time to enjoy the sensation of being held by a girl. For he began pedaling as fast as he could down the sidewalk heading further into town as Belch Huggins's car could be heard speeding behind them.


	4. Into The Woods

**AN** \- Remember to review, follow, favorite, what have you. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think so far! :)

P.S I do want to thank all the people who have followed, favorited, and reviewed. You are all amazing and I'm really glad you like this! You're the reason I keep wanting to continue this story!

Also, again, I have read the book IT, but now that I have two jobs and a new house to work on, I don't have time to read a book the size of two bricks to read again.

So I'm going off on some of the book that I remember, the miniseries and the 2017 movie.

* * *

"Did we lose them?", yelled Mike, as he pedaled his way through the small wood near Derry. Doing his best to not get a flat tire over the jagged rocks that rested next to the rushing creek, Nora quickly looked back.

She laughed. "Yes, Speedy, you lost them."

"Good", responded Mike. He slowed down as soon as they reached a trail that the townspeople used for hikes.

"You know, too bad you're not old enough to drive yet. I bet you could run Huggins' car off the road with your skills."

He scoffed. "That's one of the things I'm saving up for. That and enough money to go to an actual college", (he swerved to avoid running over the carcass of a dead rabbit), "and hopefully I can get a real job, maybe get out of this town."

"Sounds like a smart plan to me. You're a pretty productive guy, Mike."

"Thanks. And you seem on the same boat as me. You don't want to stay in-"

Nora rolled her eyes. "Lewiston. It's a nice city and all, but I don't want to spend my whole life there." She rested her chin on his back, loosening her hold around his waist.

"So why did your parents want you to come here?"

"I don't know. I mean, to spend time with my relatives, but it seemed like it was completely out of the blue. My father grew up here, and I guess he just wanted me to experience it for myself. But I don't feel right here. Stupid, I know."

He slacked his shoulders. "No I get it, but for different reasons. At least that's one thing we have in common", said Mike, smirking.

After a few moments of thinking about it, Nora smiled. "Yeah, guess we do. Well, that and Bowers trying to kill us."

The rest of the ride was very peaceful believe it or not; the sun shining off the leaves of the many trees made this afternoon all the more... magical, in a way. Granted, bullshit like magic didn't exist. However, Nora was still a sucker for something close to it. The warm summer air with the occasional dusty breeze made being a kid in the summer heat just... perfect. Plus she made a new friend. What could be better? She missed Jamie, and her other friends, Anna and Robin, back in Lewiston. But this time, it was a boy she could get along with. Why couldn't it be this easy all the time?

* * *

Finally the two stopped at a rickety wooden gate with a sign that was marked: **NO** **TRESPASSING**.

"This is me", said Mike. He stretched his arms as he set the peg down.

As Nora dismounted his bike, she could see a two story house with a four acre yard, and a silo. There were sheep running around the fenced yard; looked like they were playing in their own shit. "In all honesty, I had a pretty good time with you, Mike."

"Me too. Uh, are you sure you don't want me to take you back? Bowers and those dicks should be gone by now."

"I'll be fine. It's about time I learn my way around this town. Maybe you can properly show me the sites of Derry... sometime."

"Alright, see you later, I guess", said Mike, smiling. Sure, he was a sweaty mess, but still good looking nonetheless.

Nora bit her lip, teetering back and forth on her feet, hands adjusting her black skirt so it was down. Though little did it matter since she was wearing black leggings. "I guess", she repeated. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

She could sense him hesitantly pondering what to do next, but grateful when he returned her affectionate gesture. Once again, she did something spontaneous: she smelled him; shaving cream and dirt. In that instant, she remembered what was still inside her sewn on pocket of her skirt. The yarmulke... Stan.

Why did that little hat make her think like that?

Abruptly letting go of Mike, Nora smiled, waved, said goodbye and hurried back down the path towards home without looking back.

* * *

Making her way through the woods, she finally reached the part of the landscape where she could see the creek. A few feet ahead is the Quarry, then the spot as Richie and his friends would call it, the Barrens.

This thought had been bothering Nora ever since she hugged Mike. Why had she immediately thought of the yarmulke? Taking it out of her pocket, she gently caressed it. And why had she thought about Stan as though she was on the defense? Just because she had a new friend who was a boy didn't change how she felt about Stan.

Stan...

Did she even like him that way? Of course she did. If she didn't, why was she still harboring something that was important to him? Sure, he was one of Richie's best friends. Based on everything Richie has ever said about him, made him seem like a stingy buzzkill. On the other hand, he was funny, charming, and smart. Of course that was how Nora saw him. As one of the few people who had been there to see him grow up, it was only right to think of him that way.

"I'm so clueless", murmured Nora, putting the yarmulke away.

 _Laughter_...

She froze, staring straight ahead. Quickly she looked all around her. "Mike?" Nobody else was there. But it was clearly the man's laughter she had heard before at school. Why would it be here?

 _Snap._

 _Snap._

 _Snap_.

Turning very slowly around, Nora could hear the eerie noise coming from behind a tree. Should she run? All sense had disappeared from her mind as she stayed where she was. "The fuck?", she whispered.

Suddenly, a hand, yes, a gray decaying human hand crept from behind the tree. The rest of the body emerged as well. What Nora saw seemed to make her breathless. For as much as she wanted to scream, she couldn't.

It was a man? But much like his hand, his entire body was a dark gray and looked as though it had been dead for a while or so. The slashes in his skin were deep red, flies swarming around him. The holes where his eyes should have been contained millions of squirming ticks. The creature took a step forward.

Nora shrieked. This thing had tried to scream, but his mouth was shut due to what appeared to be stitches across his lips, but the strands of thread were lined with bloody teeth, each tooth on each stitch had begun to snap apart. Taking a few more steps, the thing had started to run towards Nora. With each step, another stitch and bloody tooth would fall to the ground. It screamed its head off as though being viciously murdered.

Gaining what was left of her sanity, Nora screamed and turned on her heel running as fast as she could from whatever the fuck was chasing her. She was scared to look back. Out of fear that it would get closer if she dared to.

Darting past a large Oak tree, she stopped running. "Damn it!", she yelled, taking deep breaths; a side stitch. Immediately, she looked behind her. All sense of dread vanished. The creature was gone. The air felt different, back to all that magical bullshit. "What the fuck?!", she repeated.

 _Snap_.

The sound had come in front of her now. Desperately, she glanced around the ground; there was a large branch that had fallen from the Oak. Grabbing it, she retreated behind the tree. Now she could at least have a chance at defending herself from this... thing.

"Tits?!", yelled a somewhat familiar voice. It was enough for Nora to let her guard down. Peering around the tree, she felt a mixed twinge of relief and annoyance.

Patrick Hockstetter was not so subtly strutting around. "TITS?! I'm coming for you!"

Nora furred her eyebrows. He really was crazy. She knew better than to approach him. Patrick was headed towards the edge of the creek, downstream.

"I gotta get out of here", breathed Nora. Cautiously, she made sure Patrick was gone before she proceeded to run back up the path, weapon still in hand. Making her way up the steep incline, had to be a shortcut that lead back to Main Street.

Reaching the top, Nora screamed. But ultimately felt ridiculous as she watched the bike avoid her and screech to a stop. Three more bikes did the same.

"The fuck!", yelled Richie, catching his glasses as they flew off his face. Putting them back on, he glared at Nora. "What are you doing here, Nor? I thought you were home."

Staring at Bill, Eddie, Stan and a kid on the back of Bill's bike she had never seen before, made Nora think even now wouldn't be the best time to tell them what she had been running from. " _You'll sound crazy_ ", she thought.

"I... I was... hiking", she lied.

"Looks like you were practicing!", exclaimed Richie, who forgot how furious he was with her, but now looked ecstatic.

"W-w-what?", stuttered Bill, confused.

"Duh, Big Bill!", exclaimed Richie. "Look at her! Leaves in her ratty hair, clothes sweaty as Hell, and shit, Nor! A stick? I thought girls used their fingers to get themselves hot. And in the woods too! Have you no shame?!", he mocked, laughing.

"Gross, Richie!", yelled Eddie. Still, he couldn't help but think of how unsanitary it all must have been.

"I was not!", yelled Nora. She threw the branch away, blushing out of embarrassment, completely forgetting about what she saw. But she knew she must have looked like crap. That was nothing compared to how the chubby kid looked; there were red slashes near the bottom of his stomach. "What are you guys doing here? And what's wrong with him?" Wait a minute, could this kid have encountered what she had? Maybe she wasn't crazy after all...

Stan briefly looked at Bill, then back at Nora. "That's Ben. Bowers cut him up, we're going to get stuff for him."

"Oh", said an oddly disappointed Nora. "I guess that's why Patrick was over there." She pointed to where the skinny boy was seen last.

"Shit!", yelled Eddie. "We're dead if those jerks catch us. I'm probably already going to die from just being out here!"

"For the last time! Not everything is poison ivy! You see what you've _done_ to him, Stanley?", said Richie, gesturing to Eddie, grabbing for his fanny pack.

"Pa-pat-patrick was h-here?!", shouted Bill, ignoring his friends. "L-let's get out of h-here!" He started to pedal.

Eddie and Richie followed suit.

"You can hop on, we can get you something for your elbow", said Stan to Nora.

She looked down. Indeed, there was a bloody stream flowing down her arm. At some point during the chase she had cut her right elbow against a tree most likely. "Thanks", she said appreciatively, admiring his kindness. Stealing a moment to stare at his eyes and curly hair. Mounting the bike, she joyously entwined her arms around Stan's waist.

"I'd rather you just hold onto my belt. Makes it much easier for me to steer", he said strictly.

Another rush of disappointment flooded into her. "Oh, okay", said Nora. This didn't stop her from holding onto him as he caught up with the others. Just being near him made her happy. If it hadn't been for the summer heat, she was sure she would've felt his body heat.

The laughter and the sound of the bloody teeth snapping rang in her ears as the group rode back into the streets of Derry.


	5. Marsh

AN- Remember To favorite, follow, review, what have you!

I realize this is kind of going scene by scene, but just enjoy it and let me know what you guys think about this chapter in a review! :)

* * *

The boys had just stopped and parked their bikes beside the Deli. Next door was a Pharmacy.

Bill and Richie had sat Ben down on one of the concrete steps. He moaned, Eddie winced, looking at the bloody 'H' near the bottom of his stomach.

As Stan parked his bike he waited for Nora to get off to put the peg down. She recognized this building and the door; this is where she had met Mike. She mentally kicked herself for not asking him what he thought he saw. He looked scared... what could he have seen? Her thoughts were broken when Eddie kept going on about whatever he was babbling about.

"I mean, he's bleeding all over, and you guys know there's an AIDS epidemic happening right now as we speak! I mean my mom's friend in New York City got it just by touching a dirty pole in the subway, and she got AIDS blood into her system through a hangnail, a hangnail!", exclaimed Eddie. "And they can amputate legs and arms", he hesitated. "But how do you amputate waist?!"

"Good God, enough already! You're driving us insane, Eddie Spaghetti! Besides I call bullshit on that! I got tons of scrapes and none of them have killed me yet!", yelled Richie.

Eddie rolled his eyes as he threw his bike next to Bill's. "I told you to stop calling me that, Trashmouth! And it's not bullshit! It's all true!"

Richie scoffed. He had always sworn Ms. Kaspbrak's overprotective and demanding nature would be the death of Eddie.

"Richie, w-wait here", said Bill. "C-c-come on", he said to Eddie and Stan, who followed him down the alley and to the right. A little ding from the bell on top of a door was heard as the boys entered the drug store.

Sitting next to Ben, Nora wasn't at all offended that Bill hadn't addressed her. She'd be pissed off too if she was reminded that she stuttered. " _Thank God I don't_ ", she thought as she picked at some dried up grass.

"Glad I got to meet you before you died", said Richie as he stared down at Ben.

The two Toziers weren't surprised when Richie's attempt at a good first impression turned to shit. Nora extended both her arms in the air as if the say, " _Really_?"

Richie did the same, mocking her. "What?"

She ignored her cousin. "Don't mind him", she informed Ben. "He's been an idiot since birth." Still no response from the new kid. "I think he's adopted", she whispered the last part. Ben kind of smirked, but dropped it. Nora guessed it was because he might be intimidated by Richie's extroverted personality.

"I always thought Uncle John and Aunt Jenny adopted you from an insane asylum. That would explain all that crazy shit you do. Seriously what was that in the bathroom this morning?", asked Richie.

Ben chuckled.

Nora glared at them both. "That's not funny."

"I thought it was", stated Ben, staring at Nora in a way that made her uncomfortable. So he did have a mind of his own. She could respect that.

"So you can talk?", asked Richie.

"Yeah. You wouldn't know since you guys never talk to me. I know, I know, nobody ever talks to new kids", said Ben, still holding the spot on his stomach that was bleeding.

"I wish this one didn't talk to me", said Nora pointing at Richie. "But hey, we know you now."

"I guess", muttered Ben. "And hey, thanks for getting me out of there", he said looking up at Richie, who had begun kicking rocks around.

"Yeah, no problem Bub. Losers like us have to stick together."

"Losers?", asked Ben.

"Yeah. That's what Bill, Eds, Stanny Boy, and I call ourselves. We're kind of a club, basically outcasts. And no offense my friend, but you are on the flabby side. That's not a bad thing. But hey, that's the only reason Bowers would want to kill you", said Richie. "He's a real dick. Broke my glasses a couple times. Almost cracked Eddie's arm in half..." He cursed under his breath.

This 'shockingly' didn't make Ben feel any better.

"Anyway, you can hang with us. It's better than being a lone target", said Richie, placing a hand on Ben's shoulder.

"That's really comforting, Richard", said Nora sarcastically.

He ignored her, as he was for sure he had made up for his earlier comment.

Ben smiled as he looked back and forth at the Toziers. "So you two aren't brother and sister?"

"No!", yelled Richie.

"Gross", said Nora, shuddering at the thought.

"I wish I had a sibling. It would be nice to have an older brother looking out for me."

"Hey! I just said you're one of us now!", exclaimed Richie, trying his best to impersonate Batman.

Ben and Nora laughed.

The boys had come back. Eddie collapsed in front of Ben with quite the load of supplies. He just opened a small pack of cotton balls apart as Ben lifted his shirt. The majority of the blood had dried; he had to swat away some flies from landing on him.

"Just suck the wound", announced Richie as he tried to make light of the situation. He shoved Eddie forward a bit, dabbing the cotton on the blood.

"I need to focus right now", spat Eddie.

Nora was too busy watching this procedure to notice someone tapping on her shoulder. She looked up to see Stan next to her. She too stood up, lifting her elbow to reveal her bloody cut as well. It wasn't as bad as Ben's but it still needed covering up. Stan had opened the small tube of Neosporin, squirted a little on his finger and gently spread it around her small injury. With one hand he held her arm as he placed the bandaid over the cut. He was blushing slightly.

Nora couldn't help but stare at Stan too much to watch what he was doing; she counted the limited freckles on his face. She smiled. His eyes were beautiful; the minute his met hers, he smiled sheepishly as well. "There you go", he said, satisfied with the job he had done, once again, rubbing the bandaged area to make sure it would stay put.

In his mind she was a bit odd, not as big as a talker as Richie, but she seemed insecure. He remembered that her hair was much longer than it was now. It looked... pretty. Her skin was soft; he wasn't sure his blistered palms felt right on her smooth ones. Those hazel eyes seemed to stare into his soul. But the fact is, well, he didn't mind.

"Thanks", she said gratefully. Nora mentally kicked herself again. Why was she acting so helpless when Ben was the one with the real injury? Pathetic. Their eye contact was broken from the obnoxious continuation of Eddie and Richie bickering.

"Yeah, can you go get me something?", asked Eddie. He had just administered the biggest bandage he could to Ben's stomach.

"Oh, what do you need?", asked Richie.

"Go get my bifocals, they're in my second fanny pack. It's hanging on my bike."

The group chuckled.

"Why do you have two fanny packs?", asked Stan.

Eddie became irritated as he dropped the alcoholic swaps. "I need to focus right now, it's a long story. Just get it!"

"I don't want to hear it."

" _Ben from Soc_?", came a voice from down the alley.

"You have to suck the wound before you apply the bandage. It's basic!", said Richie enthusiastically.

"You dont know what you're talking about", said Eddie, scratching his head.

"Are you okay, that looks like it hurts", said the voice. It was a girl. Once she approached the group, everyone except Bill looked awkward in her presence.

Nora immediately felt uneasy as she stood behind Stan. Just from this girl's appearance alone made her feel self conscious. From her red hair to her clothes, she made Nora look like she was basically trash. She recognized her from school. What was her name? Greta Keane always called her something... Beaverly? No, it couldn't be that. Aside from the fact she smelled like an ashtray, she was decent looking.

"No, I'm good", said Ben, shoving Eddie's hands away, covering the cuts with his already bloody shirt. Trying to hide it was useless. "I just fell."

"Yeah, right into Henry Bowers", piped up Richie.

Bill stepped forward. "Shut it, R-R-Richie!", he stammered. Why did he look so flustered? None of his friends had ever seen him like this.

"Why? It's the truth."

Beverly Marsh smiled as her expression turned giddy. "You sure they got the _right_ _stuff_ to fix you up?", she said, not so subtly winking at Ben.

"You know w-w-w-w-we'll take care of him. Thanks again, Beverly", stuttered Bill.

As the Toziers, Eddie, and Stan glanced at each other, Nora tried to suppress a laugh; between Bill stuttering and Richie's confusion, it was all too much for her to hold in. She snickered, not even caring that Beverly saw her.

"Sure, maybe I'll see you around", said Beverly, appearing to have ignored Nora. She turned her attention back to Bill.

Bill smiled. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Yeah, we were maybe thinking about going to the q-q-q-quarry later, if you wanna... come?"

"Good to know. Thanks", said Beverly Marsh. Taking one last look at the gang, she turned looking flawless nonetheless and waved behind her shoulder before walking the rest of the way down the alley and disappearing into the streets.

Once she was gone, Bill glared at Nora, for she had finally let out the laugh she was holding in. Under Bill's cold manner she faked it out as a cough. She was saved by Stan.

"Nice going, bringing up Bowers in front of her", he reprimanded Richie.

"Yeah, you heard what she did", said Eddie, letting out a breath of relief.

"What'd she do?", asked Ben.

"More like who'd she do. From what I hear, the list is longer than my wang!", exclaimed Richie, touching the front of his pants.

"That's not saying much", murmured Stan.

Nora stuffed her hands in her pockets. "She's said to be the biggest slut in Derry. I heard she had a threesome with Bowers and that crackhead from Biology, in her own house. I guess her dad didn't give a shit."

"They're j-j-just rumors", said Bill, coming to the defense.

"She did help us out in there, though", said Eddie. "I would have had the money. But my mom kept my allowance to buy me a new inhaler."

"How did she help you?", asked Nora.

"She messed up that pervert of a drug dealer", informed Stan. "We could've taken more than our fair share had Eddie not knocked over those stamps."

Richie scoffed. "Anyway, Bill had her back in third grade. They kissed in the school play! The reviews said that you can't fake that kind of passion", he informed Ben, who looked put out. "Now, pip pip and tally-ho my good fellows, I do believe this chap requires our utmost attention!" What was with Richie and all these fucking impressions? "Now get in there Dr. K and fix him up!"

Eddie was once again thrown to the ground. He picked up the swabs and had returned to what he was doing. "Why don't you shut the fuck up, Einstein, because I know what I'm doing and I don't need you doing the British guy routine!"

"Suck the wound. Get in there!", said Richie.

"God Richard! Quit being disgusting!" complained Nora.


	6. The Quarry

**AN** \- Remember to enjoy, review, follow, favorite, whatever.

Props to whoever can guess the "book" that Nora is reading. It's a show but I styled it as a book, especially since it'll come up again later.

Let me know what you think in a review! :)

* * *

(Nora's P.O.V)

Richard and I had returned home to pack what we wanted to take to the Quarry. He ran to his room and slipped on some trunks but decided against it.

"You really should take them!", I yelled after hearing himself mumble whether he should or should not. Again, that girls take forever bullshit...

"Now who's the pervert?", he yelled, slamming his closet door.

I rolled my eyes after I raided my suitcases and under the cot in the guest room that was previously Aunt Maggie's sewing room. How stupid I was not to have brung a swimsuit! Grabbing my red backpack, I filled it with a black T-shirt, a pair of old overalls, panties, and settled on just swimming in my black shorts and checkered shirt. Shoes wouldn't be necessary.

After stubbing my toes on the dresser, I looked on top and saw one of the other few items I had taken from home, my favorite book in the world. Picking it up and examining the nearly tattered cover, (the girl on the front looked so determined and fierce), I figured I take it as well as I stuffed it into my bag. Reading it for the 14th time didn't seem ridiculous to me, considering I was already on chapter 4. It was just so addicting!

"Ready?"

"I'm coming!", yelled Richard. There was a loud bump. He probably tripped over all the shit he kept in his room again. He's more clumsy than I am.

Maybe I should invite Mike. No, he has a job. He wouldn't want to waste a days pay. Besides, I didn't know his number, and the only phone book in the house was in Uncle Went's study. No way in Hell I'm going in there. Everything was so neat, imagine if just one little thing was out of place. Granted, I've never heard Uncle Went yell... no, couldn't risk it. If he could yell as loud as my dad does, that'd be a record. My father once made me sit in a corner for three hours when I had accidentally kicked a rock at his car.

This memory left my thoughts when I heard Richard yelling at me to hurry up; he had already gone outside. I slung my pack behind me and ran after him.

* * *

(Normal P.O.V)

It was a little chilly when Richie and Nora arrived at the top of the Quarry; Bill was looking over the peak to see if anyone else was there, (there wasn't), Eddie, Stan and Ben had already stripped down to their underwear and nothing else.

"Oh God!", exclaimed Nora. Sure, she had seen boys in their swim trunks before, but never had she seen them in just their underwear; they may as well have been naked, their dicks were visible. At least the little bulge anyway...

Richie quickly took off his clothes and ran behind Nora, smacking the back of her head. "Get used to it, Nor!" He proceeded to run to the rest of the group. As she rubbed the spot he hit, Nora joined the boys on the edge of the small "cliff" that wasn't too far from the water. But just far enough that if you jumped the wrong way, you'd break your neck on impact.

Nora, (deciding it was best to stay fully clothed), looked to her left, nudging the wheezing boy. "Wow Ed. I'm surprised you're even doing this."

His expression changed from excited to questionable. "It's not like I'm going to die from swimming in this. Besides, this waters been tested, and I _have_ done this before."

Laughter. "Yeah, only because Richie pushed you in the first time", said Stan. "Hey! We counted to ten, but you still wouldn't go. Pushing you in was the only solution."

"Yeah, I didn't know you could scream that loud, Eddie. You sounded like a girl!", joked Richie.

Eddie flipped them both off.

"I t-think B-ben will make the b-b-biggest splash. N-no offense...", said Bill, smirking. Ben simply shrugged it off. He still had the bandage on his stomach.

"Whatever. I always ranked champ at this back in my old town. Just, never this high."

"Hey! Watch this!", said Richie. He hocked a loogie, spitting it over the edge. The boys laughed, Nora smirked, taking a second look as Stan spat his wad, then Bill. Out of all the boys, Stan seemed the only one who being nearly naked was just right. Even a few steps away from him she could see the small chest hairs growing on him. She bit her lip as she stared at his eyes.

"That was terrible! I win!", announced Richie.

"Gross!", shrieked Nora as soon as she realized Eddie's spit didn't go quite as far as he wanted it to. A little of it ended up on Nora's bare feet. She tried scraping it off. It didn't work.

"Come on! It's only spit!", yelled Ben.

"Still gross", muttered Nora. But even she couldn't help but laugh and blush all at once.

"Enough of this here stalling!", yelled Richie. "Who's first?"

The six kids stared down. It was quite the jump.

"I thought you said you did this before?", asked Nora, staring down at Eddie.

"Just like how I said some of us were pushed!", he said, glaring at Richie who smiled.

A few minutes of silence went by as they were debating who the brave soul was going to do it. But the time they did, it would be nightfall.

There was rustling behind them. "I'll go!"

They turned around. It was Beverly Marsh, unbuttoning her dress. She flung the clothing onto her bike; both her bra and underwear made her look much more feminine than she had the other day. "Sissies!", she yelled as she ran towards the group. They parted leaving her room to jump. In a swift motion she leaped from the edge and into the water below.

"What the fuck?!", yelled Richie.

She splashed.

"Show off", said Nora, staring distastefully at Beverly from above. It had appeared she and the rest of the kids in Derry were right about the redhead. She was a slut; stripping down to your bra and panties like it was nothing in front of six boys was pretty skanky.

"Do we have to do that now?", asked Stan.

"Yeah! She out ball'd us!", shouted Eddie.

"Come on!", yelled Beverly. She cut her hair, but it had still gotten in her face. She dove under and came up just so her hair could get out of her eyes.

And just like that, the six remaining went one by one into the refreshing water that saved them from the heat of summer.

* * *

From playing chicken to splashing each other to just floating on their backs, the kids couldn't have wished for a more perfect day. The only thing that would ruin it would be Bowers showing up. Or worse, their parents. But knowing that was avertible, they had the time of their lives.

"The fuck!", Eddie stated as they played another game of chicken. He did his best to steady himself on Nora's shoulders as Richie tried to throw him off. Richie won.

After Ben had tossed Richie backwards off his shoulders, he noticed Bill and Beverly a little away from the others, just wading. Nora saw them as well. She figured there was something going on between them. From the way Bill acted around her yesterday and by the way he looked at Beverly. He must like her. A slut like her shouldn't be leading on a nice guy like Bill. He didn't deserve it.

Indeed, Nora didn't like him that way, but she knew he needed someone worthy. She swam towards the others. "Hey, what do you guys think of her?"

They shut up and looked at the ginger talking to Bill.

Eddie shrugged. "I don't know. Okay I guess. She barely talked to us though."

They did their best to keep their heads above the water.

"She did help us out. Doesn't seem the kind of person Greta Keane made her out to be", said Stan.

Looking on, Richie splashed some water towards his cousin. "Geez Nor, I didn't picture you as a slut shamer."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Come on, Richard. Everyone says she is, I'm not any different. Even if she's not there is still _something_ weird about her. But I choose the latter. She shouldn't be toying with Bill. He's too nice to be fucked with."

Stan looked put out. He felt a twinge of jealously. But why? Why would he feel jealous? Bill was one of his best friends. And Nora, well, she was Richie's cousin. Staring at her, he never realized just how pretty she actually became. He had always known her as kind of a weird little girl who wouldn't leave him alone whenever she was in town. Now it was him who was staring at her eyes. He smiled.

"I don't think she's a you know what", piped up Ben. "She's too nice."

"Benny, the adults are talking. Run along and play", said Richie in a British accent.

Everyone laughed.

* * *

Two hours later and everyone had gotten out of the lake, gathered their belonging from their bikes and sat on some of the smoother rocks near the water. Thanks to Eddie, who brought towels to lay on, the group quickly laid them out and rested on them until the sun dried off their soaked bodies.

Nora didn't care that her clothes were soaking wet still. She had a great day for once. As she unzipped her backpack she enjoyed the sensation of her legs dangling in the water. Pulling her book out, she pulled the paper she used as a bookmark, sat it down and began to read the beginning of the fourth chapter: _The Body_.

 _"_ _The Earth must have given way", suggested Officer Hopper as he tried to comfort the frantic mother. Little did he know she had just suffered through her own traumatic experience in her home just a few minutes ago. But Ms. Byers couldn't believe it. "Joyce? Joyce? Do you understand what I'm saying?"_

 _"_ _No. Whoever you found is not my boy. It's not Will", said Ms. Byers. She refused to believe it as she eyed Jonathan out of the corner of her eye._

 _The teenager wasn't sure what to believe any-"_

"Hey."

Nora looked up to see Beverly sitting next to her. She continued to look at her as she remained silent. She placed the bookmark back inside her book and closed it.

"Whatcha reading?"

"A book", said Nora sarcastically. Hoping to God her tone of voice would give a hint.

Quite the opposite. Beverly chuckled and got comfortable, dipping her legs in as well. " _God, even five hours of swimming can't get rid of her stench_ ", thought Nora, rolling her eyes. But even she had to admit the redhead looked great; she just gave off an aura of confidence. This impression was gone the minute Beverly pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. She then exposed her pack of them and offered one to Nora. "Want one?"

Thinking for a moment, Nora mustered up the fakest smile she could and glared at the smoking slut. "No thanks. I want to keep myself... _pure_."

Beverly's smile faded, finally taking the hint.

Nora got up and went to go join the boys.


	7. History, Murder, Ships

**AN** \- Remember to enjoy, review, follow, favorite, whatever.

Let me know what you think of this chapter in a review!

And yes! The book Nora was reading was "Stranger Things". It's a Netflix show I decided to make into a book. It'll come up later in the story!

* * *

"News flash, Ben, school's out for summa!", announced Richie as he took it upon himself to rummage through Ben's backpack.

Ben attempted to grab it back. "Oh that, that's not school stuff." Something was pulled out that made him turn as red as a tomato.

"Who sent you this?", asked Richie, holding a piece of paper.

"No one!", said Ben, putting the mysterious item away. He tried to stop Richie again, but he couldn't resist; he was just to fast for him.

Both Richie and Ben continued to fight over their shit. The others took to staring at a certain redhead that laid out in the sunshine. Bill, Stan, and Eddie stared at her completely mesmerized. Were the ages of 13 and 14 really the ages when boys finally saw girls differently? God, was it easier when kids looked at each other as friends, rather than boys and girls.

Sudden movement from Beverly, turning her head, was enough for them to look away sheepishly.

Someone scoffed. "Honestly, guys. She doesn't have anything to look at", whispered Nora. She felt both annoyed and insecure at the same time. Sure, she too could have stripped down to her panties. But she had more respect for herself; she wasn't a slut. When the right guy came along, then she would fully give herself to him. Only way, way in the future would that happen. Beverly glanced at Nora, frown still etched on her face.

Was it wrong for Nora to feel happy she finally hit a cord? Smiling her fake smile towards her once again, Beverly looked off into the water.

"Yeah well... who knows when we'll ever see a nearly naked girl again?", asked Eddie, taking another swig from his inhaler.

Nora and Richie glared at each other as they both remembered what happened on their last day of school. She laid a hand on Eddie's shoulder. "Oh, come on, Eddie! I'm sure any girl would date you!"

His eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Sure. I mean look at you! You're small, don't really have muscles yet, and you smell like a doctor's office, and...", Nora began to comically panic. "uhh... that's all I got! Stan! Think of something, you're the smart one!"

Eddie turned to his left.

"Uh, you're super _hygienic_!", said Stan trying to sound convincing. "If you do become a doctor, you can deliver your own kids."

"Dicks...", said Eddie, kicking a rock.

He had to know they were only joking. Even so, Stan and Nora fist bumped behind the wheezing boy's back, doing their best to laugh silently.

"What's with the history project?", asked Richie. He shoved an entire newspaper into Stan's hands. It showed a lot of text that was too small to read, and a black and white photograph of a burnt down building.

"Oh well, when I first moved here, I really didn't have anyone to hang out with so I just started spending time in the library", said Ben. He was just happy to have people to talk to; people who hopefully wouldn't judge him.

Too late...

"You went to the library?", asked Richie jokingly. "On purpose?"

"B-be-beep b-be-beep R-Richie!", said Bill.

Nora was confused. "Beep beep?", she muttered.

"It's a warning we made for Richie. It's a cue to make him shut up", explained Eddie.

Nora nodded in understanding.

"I wanna see", piped up Beverly. She stood up and sat next to Bill; his eyes locked onto her.

"What's the Black Spot?", asked Nora. This town was getting stranger by the minute. Was exactly happened in this place?

"The Black Spot was a nightclub that was burned down years ago by that racist cult", explained Eddie again, handing the papers to Nora. She stared at the picture in fascination.

"Huh", was all she could say. She didn't realize that such a thing could happen in Derry. It still seemed like a boring town to her.

"Your hair looks beautiful, Beverly", announced Ben.

Everyone stopped reading the paper and stared at Bill, Ben and Beverly awkwardly looking at each other.

"Oh, right... thanks", said Beverly, playing with her hair, blushing a bit at the newfound attention.

Nora rolled her eyes as she flipped to another page that was filled of smiling kids faces, names, and the dates they went missing. She passed it back to Ben.

"Why's it all murders and missing kids?"

There was slight hesitation. "Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before. They did a study once. It turns out people die or disappear six times the national average."

"You read that?", asked Beverly.

"Not just grownups. Kids are worse way, way worse", stated Ben.

Silence.

"And... there's been A LOT of missing kids recently, hasn't there?", asked Nora. "Like, that Betty girl. And, uh-", she snapped her fingers trying to remember Bill's brother. "And Geor-", she stopped herself. From the glares she was getting, along with the hurt expression on Bill's face, she immediately dropped it and coughed. "But what about the cops? Shouldn't they be working twice as hard now to stop this from happening?"

Some chuckled.

"Yeah right!"

"You must have met Bowers by now, right?" asked Beverly.

"Yeah", said Nora.

"His dad is one of the Head Policemen. If he can't control his own bastard, then what makes you think he can save us?", asked Stan.

"Preach it!", yelled Richie.

Nora shrugged. They had a fair point.

"I've got more stuff, if you want to see it at my house", said Ben, shoving the papers into his pack.

The kids looked at one another. It was clear Eddie didn't want to go from how much he was shaking his head, and how much Stan and Richie felt about it; a waste of time, really. It was summer, a time for having fun, not researching dead kids. For Bill, it was just unhealthy.

"We should. I'd like to learn more, Ben", said Beverly. "It'll be interesting."

"I a-agree. L-let's all go", said Bill.

There was really no actual debate. More of a neutral agreement. Spending a few minutes getting dressed, the kids reached their bikes.

As each mounted, Stan motioned for Nora that she could ride behind him again. Once she got on, she remembered how he felt about his "steering", so she only held onto his belt.

He coughed. "You could uh, hold on tighter if you want. It's going to get really bumpy uphill."

"Okay", said Nora slyly. As she wrapped her arms around his waist, she swore she saw him smile at her embrace.

All the kids began pedaling down the trails.

* * *

"So-", started Nora. "A Bar Mitzvah, huh. Quite the sausage party." She laughed. As did he a bit.

"Whatever Richie told you about it, it's not true."

"Like I ever really listen to him anyway. But he's right... about one thing. You don't have to invite me just to be nice. I'm used to people not wanting me around."

Stan dodged a low hanging branch and slowed his speed. He could barely see their friends through the brush. They would catch up with them later.

"Well, I mean, that could be the reason. I am going to be a "man". And to me, that means being the bigger person. Doing something to help someone else. Show that someone that I do care", said Stan, smiling back at her.

She did the same. "You really are smart", she said as she admired him.

"Not according to my dad at the moment."

"What do you mean?"

Now Stan was merely letting the bike move as he relaxed his legs. Considering it was downhill from here, he could just glide to the bottom until they reached the river. He sighed. "Well, first he was pissed at me because of my yarmulke. That dick, Hockstetter, lost it. Then he makes a big deal about me being late to practice. Not to mention I have been practicing on reading my speech. He just makes me nervous."

"I think he just wants the best for you, Stan. I only met your father once. You, your mom and dad came to Richard's Christmas party. I remember the look on your dad's face when he told Uncle Went about how well you did at sewing your own yarmulke. He was really proud of you", said Nora, letting it sink in. "I know he wants the best for you."

He chuckled. "Thanks, Nora."

"Anytime", she replied, smiling. This bike ride wasn't the same as it was with Mike. But it was still magical.

"And I am sorry for spitting in your face", added Stan, trying to hold back his laughter.

"You're lucky I'm not a germophobe, or I would have killed you!"

The two of them skidded to a stop as they reached the final trail that led them to Main Street. Since Ben told them his address, Stan had no problem finding it. Turning a corner, he sped through the crowd of people.

Little did he know on the other side of the street, hidden behind a Coke truck was a very familiar blue car. The residents of the vehicle recognized the Jew and the Trashmouth's Bitch.

Belch Huggins nodded at the mullet haired young man in shotgun, then started his car and slowly followed the two misfits.

Henry smirked knowing exactly what he was going to do.


	8. Death Wishes

**AN** \- Remember to enjoy, review, follow, favorite, whatever.

Let me know what you think in a review.

* * *

Ben had a pretty nice place. It was kind of generic but it had a sense of security. From what the kids could see, it was a normal house; everything you'd expect to see of a family that is well off. But as they entered his bedroom, they could tell somebody this obsessed about something was definitely crazy.

All over his walls were articles of Derry and all the tragedies that occurred. It was chilling looking at the posters of missing kids who were frozen in time smiling back, unknown of exactly what would befall them.

"Woah, woah, woah, wow!"

"Cool, huh?", asked Ben as he began sorting his room out. There were models of the old lighthouse on his desk next to some cassette tapes.

"No, nothing cool. There's nothing cool", began Richie. He, Stan and Eddie gathered around the wall with the articles of more missing kids, an explosion involved at an Easter egg hunt, and signatures that were too disfigured to read clearly. "Well this is cool, wait, no it's not."

"What's that?", asked Stan, pointing to a black and white photograph.

Beverly and Nora, who were on the other side of the room reading the wrinkled yellow papers that lined the wall, looked to where Stan mentioned.

Ben turned around as well. "That? That's the charter for Derry Township."

"Nerd alert", pronounced Richie.

"Actually, it's really interesting", said Ben proudly. It seemed as though he had gotten used to this Tozier, big mouthed as he may be, he was a decent kid. "Derry started as a beaver trapping camp."

"Still is, am I right, boys?", stated Richie. He raised his arm above Eddie for a high five. But one glare from Stan was enough for him to shut up.

Without really thinking about it, Nora locked eyes with Beverly and the two snickered. If there was one thing they could agree on, it was that Richie was always good for a laugh. Bill on the other hand, rolled his eyes as he stared out the window.

Ben continued. "Ninety-one people signed the charter that made Derry. But later that Winter, they all disappeared without a trace."

"The entire camp?", asked Eddie, beginning to feel uneasy.

"Not one survivor?", asked Nora. Ben shook his head.

"There were rumors of Indians. But no sign of an attack. Everyone thought it was a plague or something. But it's like one day, everybody just up and left. The only clue was a trail of bloody clothes leading to the well house."

"That sounds like a myth. I don't remember learning about it in school", said Beverly. "It sounds like a Halloween special they'd put on that one show, um..."

"Unsolved Mysteries?", suggested Richie.

Beverly snapped her fingers. "That's the one!"

"W-where wa-was the w-well house?", asked Bill out of nowhere. Everyone stared at him.

"I don't know, somewhere in town, I guess", said Ben. "Why?"

"Nothing", said Bill. But they could tell there was something more to it for him.

Nora stepped forward. "I hate to admit it, but I think Marsh is right. Maybe it is just a story. I mean, if it was real, wouldn't it be one of the many historical landmarks in Derry?", she said, motioning to the newspapers. "Wouldn't people have turned it into a museum or something?"

"They could have burned it down. Not much is left, especially since they've rebuilt most of this town over the years", said Stan. "Like our houses."

 _Beep. Beep. Beep_.

It was Eddie's watch.

"Oh shit! My mom's going to kill me! I should have been home by now", yelled Eddie.

"Not if her six course meal killed her first", said Richie. Eddie glared at him.

"L-lay off him, R-Rich. It is g-g-getting late. T-thanks for sh-sh-showing us t-this, B-Ben", stammered Bill. "W-we were going to the movies t-tomorrow if you wanted to come with."

"Uh, sure what movie?"

"The new Batman one. Not as good as Lethal Weapon, but just as badass!", declared Richie. He followed Eddie out to their bikes.

"Y-you're free to come t-too, B-Beverly", said Bill. He smiled at her.

So did she, subconsciously tugging some hair behind her ear. "I'd like that."

"Y-you too", said Bill, subtly to Nora.

"Gee, I'm flattered", she said flatly as she headed out the door. "See ya, Ben." Jumping down the front steps, she realized Richie and Eddie had left already. Night was coming, but nobody was really expecting her anywhere. Maybe she could go and visit Mike. Not only was she anticipating the day she'd see him again, but Nora wanted to introduce him to her friends. He'd be a great addition.

"Wait up!", came a voice from behind her. She paused, turning around. The boy speeding towards her halted to a stop and got off his bike, walking next to her.

"Hey", she said. They kept going up the sidewalk. The streetlights were coming on. They had to hurry home so they wouldn't miss the curfew.

"Hey. I figured we could walk home together. My house is only two blocks from yours", said Stan, swatting a fly out of his face.

"You're not afraid of the dark are you?", teased Nora.

He scoffed. "Yeah right. There are worse things in this town. Do you really believe all that stuff Ben said?"

Shrugging, Nora stepped over the remains of a dead mouse that looked as though it had been chewed up by a cat. "Who am I to judge, really. I barely know anything about this town. Do you?"

"All of it sounds too specific to be made up. Just too real. If that makes sense", said Stan, staring down at her.

"I guess it's cool to believe in something that much... strange... but cool", said Nora, remembering something, she waited until they reached a backstreet next to an old garage. Grabbing his sleeve, he stopped confused, kicking the rod on his bike down so it stood up.

Sliding her hand into her pocket, she pulled out the small hat that Stan recognized immediately. Placing it in his hand and seeing him smile made her mimic him. "Hockstetter threw it on the bus the other day. I thought you might want it back."

He stared straight into her eyes. "Thank you, Nora. It's my favorite one!", he said, placing the red and tan yarmulke on top of his head.

And just like lighting, the familiar blue Plymouth Fury came storming up the alley, stopping a few feet from the kids.

"Shit", said Stan, grasping the handle bars of his bike.

The engine shut off. The doors opened and out stepped the well known bullies of Derry. Belch slammed his door shut and walked to the front of his car, leaning on the hood. Bowers did the same, one hand in his pocket, the other, playing with another switchblade he had "borrowed" from his father and Vic strayed behind, smiling his gap toothed smile.

"Looks like the bitch likes hanging out with the nigger, the slut, Tits, and now a fucking Jew", mocked Henry, laughing. Belch and Vic joined in.

"Takes a slut to be friends with one."

By heavenly God... didn't these guys have jobs?

"I'd rather hang with them than a bunch of fucking stalkers", muttered Nora.

But Stan wasn't in the mood to hang around. He tugged on her sleeve. "Let's just go", he whispered, attempting to pass them, but it was useless. If Bowers was crazy enough to carve his name into Ben's stomach, who knew what else he'd do. He was taller than Stan or Nora combined. If they'd try to run, they'd be dead.

Holding the knife in front of him, Henry, followed by his friends, slowly made their way to Stan, who refused to try something stupid.

A few moments of silence went by before Henry grabbed the front of Stan's shirt, using his other hand to trail the switchblade from his chest to the top of his head, stabbing the yarmulke so it looked like a piece of steak ready to be burnt in a fire.

"Didn't Patrick trash this, you little shit?", asked Henry, flinging the hat behind him. It landed in a puddle of mud.

"Where's the pothead anyway?", asked Nora, not quite so innocently. Her eyes were locked on the blistered hand that was wrinkling Stan's shirt.

"Probably fucking Henry's girl", taunted Belch. "All the sluts hang out, it's how they know who's worth fucking."

"She's not my friend, just shut up", said Nora. Why was she defending Marsh? It's not like they were friends. But in this moment, having these jerks talk shit about her felt wrong. "Let him go."

Her demand was pointless. Henry refused to lighten his grip on Stan but that didn't stop him from pointing his knife at her. Nora did her best not to step back out of fear. She felt braver the minute Stan's hand grabbed hers.

She had to do something...

As fast as she could, she kneeled down, grabbed a rock bigger than her fist and flung it into the air, above everyone's heads. It flew and flew and flew until finally... _CRASH_! Belch's pride and joy, no longer had the front glass window. The shards now littered the inside of his car and the hood.

"FUCK!", yelled Belch.

With the dickheads distracted, Stan shoved Henry's hands off of him, grabbed one of Nora's, and the two bolted it down the dimly lit road.

Faster and faster they tried to run, doing their best to make it towards their homes. The sound of pounding feet behind them made them even more desperate.

"Keep going!", yelled Stan.

Henry's death threats weren't very encouraging. An occasional, "I'm going to bury you!"

And Belch's: "You're dead!", boomed in their ears.

Making it to the end of the road that led to the playground, Stan and Nora did their best to catch their breath, but the next few moments went by very fast.

The next thing she knew, Nora's scalp felt like it was being split in two as Bowers had run up behind her and grabbed a fistful of her hair. She saw Vic on his knees panting. Doing her best to attempt to kick Henry, she saw Stan run towards them, only to be held back by a sweaty Belch.

It was strange seeing all the fear in Stan's eyes disappear. What showed now was a newfound anger she never knew he had. He continued to struggle to no avail. "No! No! Don't touch her, you _bastard_!"

With one swift motion, Henry flung Nora by her hair onto the ground where she landed on her back. Ignoring the sharp pain that was sent through her body, she tried to get up, but being pinned down by someone twice her size was excruciating.

Henry lifted her shirt just below her breast and took out the switchblade. She wasn't fat like Tits, but he was going to carve his name no matter what.


	9. Maybe

AN - Sorry I've been gone and the fact this chapter is short doesn't make up for it, but I plan on hopefully updating later this week with a longer chapter.

But here's a bit of fluff to try and make up for it.

* * *

"No!", mumbled Nora. As much as she struggled under the weight of Bowers, she couldn't help but cringe at the sight of him on top of her. It felt dirty and wrong. She knew how sex worked, but this was wrong. It's not like he wanted her for that anyway; he wanted to scar her for life... literally.

Staring into his eyes made her even more uncomfortable. For the light in his seemed to have faded as he moved his knife against her stomach. Like he was teasing her before he actually caused some damage.

He smirked.

Stan didn't have much luck either. Belch nearly dislocated his arm from him pulling so hard. Even when he received a blow against the side of his head, he couldn't stop trying to break free. Sure, he had heard and seen some of the "tamed" deeds Bowers had done over the years. But nothing like this. And Stan would rather die than see one of his friends bleeding to death. Glaring at Bowers, he couldn't help but continue to struggle harder. "If you hurt her..."

"Shut the fuck up", yelled Henry, glaring at Stan.

As soon as he was distracted, Nora built up all the strength she could and punched Henry, causing him to stumble backwards. He dropped the knife somewhere, nobody knew exactly where. All they heard was the clink, clink, clink.

Figuring it was best to act first, Stan elbowed Belch in his flab and did a football players move on Henry and hurtled him to the ground so that he was off of Nora. She however, scrambled to her feet and ran over to the skinny boy pounding on Bowers like he had imagined so many times in his head. Never would he have thought he could actually do it; he never had a reason to... until now.

"Stan! Stan!", yelled Nora, hoping to get away before Vic or Belch helped their friend out.

He managed to get one more punch in before he was pried off the bleeding boy. The blood mostly came from his nose.

"Stan! Come on!", she yelled, pulling him away.

Continuing to pant and regain his focus, Stan's blind fury disappeared as he looked at the girl, who for a mere moment looked afraid of him. But he would never hurt her... ever.

The two broke into a run; he planned to retrieve his bike in the morning.

* * *

Finally making it to the Tozier household, the friends were silent. In the dusty streetlight, they could barely see each other. But it was still evident that there was blood on Stan's face. Not his own of course.

Since he was taller than her, Nora stood on one of the front porch steps so she was at his height, but only just. She enjoyed the fact he was close, close enough touch.

"So, thanks. You know, back there", she started. She noticed the crickets chirping. It was better than silence at this point.

"Yeah, it was nothing", said Stan as he tried to ignore the pain in his hands. "I'm just glad he didn't cut you up."

"Yeah..."

It might have been the heat of everything that happened or it could be that Nora wanted to show she was thankful rather than just saying it.

Her parents never kissed each other anymore, not like they used to. So she wasn't quite sure when the right moment to do it was.

Without hesitation, she grabbed his shoulders and meant to peck his cheek. Stan however must have been thinking the same. For he aimed for her cheek, but their actions ultimately resulted in the two kissing each other on the lips.

Quickly pulling apart, Stan and Nora stared at each other in shock. After a minute of awkward silence, both smiled.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?", asked Stan.

"Sure", said Nora, smiling. "Will you be okay?"

"Definitely."

Once they said their goodbyes, Nora entered the house and locked the door behind her. She leaned against the frame as she smiled like an idiot.

Thank God her family couldn't see her, especially Richie. She was happy her "crush" maybe felt the same for her. This meant she didn't have to be as beautiful or as slutty as Marsh to get someone she liked to like her back...


	10. Different

The next day was gorgeous at least in Nora's eyes. She had kissed Stan; her first kiss. And it was his, too, she believed. Never had she expected to ever be kissed even if it was just by accident.

Mo matter how great it felt she knew better. Love was for fools. From personal experience, she knew that once two people fell in love it was over. Being only 13 didn't help much either. What 13 year old knew anything about true love?

Enough of that crap.

She likes Stan. If this only happened to be a short lived relationship, she could find a way to deal with it.

Then again, they only kissed. An accidental one...

Making her hair as nice as she could, putting her black shirt and her gray shorts on, she decided she could go around barefoot. It was summer. Nobody expected her anywhere nor did she feel like going anywhere fancy. What was the point of trying to look fancy if she, herself wasn't as attractive as say, Marsh?

That was another thing. Nora always considered the fact that she didn't like most girls. And Marsh was one of them. The way she parades the fact that she is a slut around. How self centered could someone be?

But if Nora believed this why did she think about defending Marsh against Bowers? Based on the rumors, the two of them banged. But the way Bowers talked about her made Nora angry. Why?

As she stepped out the front door, she tried to stop thinking about it. Instead, she planned on going to one of her friends house before meeting up with Stan, Ben and the others. Mike's face immediately seemed so vivid in her mind. His brown eyes, dimples that popped up whenever he smiled, the strange way that his dark skin shone whenever the sun hit him.

Passing by Main Street made Nora smile. She remembered how kind he was. Not necessarily during their first brief meeting, but afterwards. When the two of them spent only three or four hours together. But to her, it could have been an entire day. That's what struck her as bizarre: how comfortable she felt when she was with Mike. Even though they had met only a few days ago, she felt like she knew him much longer. And when they talked, Nora wasn't afraid to tell him anything. With Stan she still felt like she could be herself, but she still wasn't sure she was good enough.

Her head would explode dealing with all these emotions.

* * *

Nora finally made it to Mike's. He looked up and waved. Smiling as he walked towards her, pulling his bike beside him. Packs of meat in the basket.

"Hey, Speedo", she said happily. "Back to the Deli?"

"Yeah", he said as the two of them made their way through the wooded path. "Weird seeing you again."

"Why?"

"Just figured you wouldn't want to be seen with me after, you know", he said seriously. He didn't have to say it. Nora knew he was talking about that incident with Bowers.

She nudged him. "Now who's stupid", she said playfully.

"I'm just saying. If you want to stay out of trouble, you shouldn't be seen hanging around me. For your own good." Mike stared at her with a sudden look of concern.

This made Nora blush. She hoped he wouldn't see. For the longest time, she had never known anybody truly caring for her well being. Granted, Stan had saved her. But this was different. Her parents most of the time, pretended she wasn't around; they ignored her. The bastards. A brief wave of anger filled her. A random memory popped in her head: Her parents only had one picture of her. This picture was old. Nora hasn't had another decent picture of herself since she was able to walk. Richie claimed he cared about her, but she doubted it. "I hang out with who I want to. I don't care what Bowers thinks. Neither should you, Mike", she said placing a hand on his. She felt him tense up at her touch.

Now he was blushing.

* * *

After Mike had dropped off most of the packages, he offered to show Nora a place he went to be alone. She agreed.

The two reached the end of a barely deserted street with a sign that stated: Dead End.

He tried to prop his bike up, but it ended up falling. They laughed.

There was a small, narrow path that apparently led to a clearing under the railroad tracks. It was steep. Mike went first, taking Nora's hand to guide her so she could avoid thorns and poison ivy.

Making it to the clearing, they crossed the river and sat down on the gravel, making sure the ground was dry. Both sat down, facing the direction they had come from. It was a nice view. Some flowers resting against the waters edge. The train tracks above shielding them from the sunlight.

They were silent for a few minutes before Nora sat a little closer to him so the sides of their hips were touching.

Nora thought maybe it was time to tell someone what she had seen in the woods. What was it even? A dead body? A zombie? Oh, of course not. There's no such thing...

"Mike?"

"Yeah?", he asked as he looked at her.

She hesitated. "I- I just wanted to tell you...", she couldn't do it. "That, you should meet my friends. I think they'd like you, too", she said, annoyed with herself. She wanted to tell him what she saw, but he was her first real friend. She couldn't have him think she was crazy.

"Uh, sure", he said. Nora could've sworn he looked disappointed. Was it something she said? Or maybe it was something she didn't say.

Just then, the sunlight had peeked through the tracks and shone right in their faces.

She stared at Mike, smirking. He did the same.

"What is it?", he asked, fully aware of how close they were.

"Nothing. It's just your eyes really are beautiful", she said. Sometimes she spoke immediately without thinking. She hated that about herself. Turning her head away, hoping he wouldn't see her blush again.

"Thanks", said Mike quietly. "And you're b-"

" _Broken_ ", thought Nora.

"-beautiful."

Nora raised her eyebrows, not sure if she heard right. She turned to correct him. But couldn't get a word in because he pressed his lips against hers.


	11. Rock War

Sorry this chapter is once again short, but I promise the next one will be longer.

* * *

Just like a snap of fingers, Nora returned to reality. In reality, she was next to Mike enjoying the feel of the light breeze as the two watched the river flow and bobble up and down until it reached the current that led to the quarry. But the kiss never happened. She wasn't sure if it was just what she imagined an actual date should be. But what she thought was maybe she did want something that was sweet or some shit.

Mike did call her beautiful though.

She smiled as a way of accepting the compliment. But it didn't sound right coming out of his mouth.

After a few more minutes of silence, Nora turned towards her friend. "Mike?"

"Yeah?", he said as he tried to skip some rocks.

"Would you hate me if I asked to borrow some money?"

He hesitated. "I couldn't hate you. But uh, sure. How much?"

Nora smiled. She knew he was saving his own money, but she didn't trust anybody else to ask. She didn't want anybody to know what she was going to use it for. "About... 30 dollars?"

"30? What do you need that much for?", asked Mike.

She fiddled her fingers. "I need it for something I've been planning since I was 6. And most people wouldn't trust a girl to mow lawns correctly or shovel their sidewalks when it snows. The point is, as much as I've tried to save up, it's been a no go. But please, Mike? I can't tell you what it's for. Not right now. Please?"

"I can only give you 10. Is that alright for now?"

Nora smiled. "It's perfect, Mike." She grabbed his hand. "Thank you."

Neither of them knew how it was possible that the boys twice their size could have snuck up on them so quietly. But it happened.

Two blistered hands had grabbed both of Nora's arms and thrust her backwards onto her feet. Her eyes tried to adjust so she could see who was assaulting her. Whoever it was proceeded to grasp a fistful of her short hair and throw her roughly back on the ground. Landing on her back, she attempted to get up until the feeling of something hard knocked the wind out of her chest, bringing a sharp pain along with it.

"Nigger!", came a familiar voice.

Bowers and Vic had found them once again.

The smell of the meat was overpowering. They had dumped Mike's packages on the ground so that dirt and rubble tainted them.

Nora looked up to see Belch's ugly face not smiling at her, but whatever was in front of him. She turned her head to the right just as she heard him scream. "Mike-", she whimpered.

Bowers was also on top on Mike, holding him down. A large rock in one hand that looked ready to kill.

A scream was heard once again and the sound of somebody falling down. It wasn't Mike. It was Bowers. A rock had bounced a couple feet away.

Across the creek stood Beverly Marsh, the girl with the wicked aim that was responsible for Bowers' bloody forehead. The blow had forced him to fall back off of Mike.

Belch had run over to Henry but Nora had quickly moved her foot so he tripped in the process. Without looking to see if Belch was coming after her, Nora got to her feet, grabbed Mike by his shirt and the two ran towards Beverly and the other Losers that emerged from the brush.

As Nora sat down to catch her breath, she gasped as Richie knelt beside her.

"Nor, are you-", he began. With one finger, he wiped at her lip. When he pulled it back there was blood on it. "Did Bowers do that?", he said in a tone Nora rarely heard him use.

She hadn't realized she was bleeding. "No, uh, it was Belch."

Richie stood up. "That son of a bitch..."

"You losers are trying too hard", announced Bowers as he seemed to recover from being a puss. "She'll do you. You just gotta ask nicely. Like I did", he said, touching his groin and gesturing to Beverly.

It was Ben that made the first move. He also that a great arm, sending another rock straight at Bowers.

"ROCK WAR!", yelled Richie before he too got hit in the face. How his glasses were still in one piece was a mystery.

It turned into a showdown.

Eddie and Bill hopped right into the water and started chucking rocks almost blindly. Vic aimed for Stan who got nailed in the back twice. Mike covered for him as he and Nora teamed up in handing stones to each other and Ben. Beverly was a sight to see. If she was alone, she could have easily taken the three dicks out herself.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, Vic and Belch fled as a nearly dazed Bowers fell to the ground appearing to pass out.

"Ben, help me", said Nora as they hoisted Mike up through the brush. The others followed.

Richie remained. Glaring at Bowers, eyes full of hatred. "GO BLOW YOUR DAD YOU MULLET WEARING ASSHOLE!"


	12. The Losers' Club - Speculations

All eight kids made sure they were a good enough distance away from the unconscious Bowers before they laughed off what they all had done. As they walked one by one down the grassy path to retrieve their bikes they inspected the slowly growing black and blue bruises on their arms, legs, and backs arguing over whose would last the longest.

There was a newfound feeling in the air. Maybe it was because for the first time that summer, they had worked together to achieve what seemed like a small feat for most people. But it was a big deal to the outcasts that looked at each other feeling closer than they ever had before.

Mike had let everyone pass in order to get to the back of the line to walk next to Nora as she scraped at the dried blood on her lip.

She looked up at his face, silently asking her a question as he eyed the others. "Oh! Yeah. These are my friends", she said gesturing to the guys. She pointed at Richie. "That's my cousin, Richard Tozier." She cupped her hands to her mouth. "Guys!", she yelled as she put one back down into her pocket and the other resting on Mike's shoulder. "You know Mike, right?"

A few looked back but merely glanced. Stan frowned as he noticed the affectionate contact between Mike and Nora; he furrowed his eyebrows. He thought about saying something or going back so he could be near her as well but decided against it. He continued forward.

"Yeah. The homeschooled kid. We've seen him around before", said Eddie doing his best to keep up but made sure he didn't lose his breathe going up and down the path.

"You don't say much do you?", said Richie, smirking.

Beverly scoffed. "Beep beep Richie", she said, causing Bill to laugh.

Nora glared at Beverly. Annoyed that the redhead was teasing her family.

That didn't seem to faze Mike at all. He smiled as he scratched the back of his head. "Sometimes. Mostly try and keep to myself. Especially around those pricks."

" _Stalkers_ ", corrected Nora.

"Yeah. Listen, I appreciate what you all did. But you shouldn't have done that, he'll be after you guys too now", said Mike.

Eddie snickered. "Bowers? He's always after us."

There were murmurs of agreement.

"I g-guess that's one th-th-thing we all have in c-c-common", piped up Bill. Was his stuttering getting worse?

"Yeah homeschool, welcome to the Losers' Club!", announced Richie.

* * *

Once the gang retrieved their bikes, they all decided to head into town and get something to eat and make the most out of the rest of the day. They deserved a treat. Passing Belch's car, Richie made sure the windshield had a few extra loogies on it. Eddie attempted to do the same but the farthest he got with his wad was hilarious considering it landed in front of his feet.

Stan walked up beside Nora. His expression had lightened up since he realized he could have more time to spend with her now that they met up. "Do you want to hop on?", he asked hopefully as he mounted his bicycle.

She smiled at him, starting to speak but shut her mouth. There was conflict going in and out of her mind. "In a minute. I have to do something", she said, resting a hand on his. She took a few steps to the left leaving Stan looking put out. He sighed as he walked up next to Ben and Bill.

Nora let out a frustrated breath but regained herself as she approached the person she wanted to talk to. "Hey, Marsh."

Beverly gave a startled jump but eased. "Uh, hey", she responded without stopping. She did however decrease her speed.

"Listen, Marsh...", began Nora. " _God_ , um, okay. I just wanted to say, thank you for helping Mike. He would've been really fucked if you hadn't stopped Bowers."

All she got as a response from Beverly was a click of her tongue off the roof of her mouth.

"And, I know I came off as a bitch. But I'll be honest, I'm not used to hanging around girls like you."

There was an abrupt stop and a screech of a tire against the road. Beverly glared at Nora, finally staring her straight on. "Like me? What do you mean? Like a _slut_?"

Nora didn't respond. More shocked at this sudden burst of frustration. She wanted to say no. Didn't she? Rumors were a dangerous thing. "No", she said, half lying, half telling the truth.

"Because it's not true and I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't judge me based on what you hear. Are you friends with that bitch, Gretta?", demanded Beverly.

Finally something they could agree on.

Nora relaxed. She offered a smile. "No way in Hell would I even want to be in the same room with that skank. Marsh, I am sorry. When I said girls like you, I meant, well...cool."

Instead of saying another word, Beverly's eyes softened as she and Nora continued to walk and catch up with the guys. Putting a hand into her pocket, Bev pulled out her pack of cigarettes and a red lighter. "Have one", she said casually. "Have one and we'll forget this bullshit."

This must be a truce.

Nora smiled unsure of herself. Granted there had been a hidden interest of what it was like to smoke. She also wanted to take a fresh shot of whiskey before she died. Taking the pack and lighter, pulling out one smoke, she flicked the little button in order to light it. It took her a couple of tries to set it aflame. Managing to finally get it lit, ignoring Beverly's innocent smile as though she was teaching a dog a few tricks, put the cigarette to her lips took a long breath in and immediately coughed as though her lungs were on fire. Despite herself, Nora shared in Beverly's laughter. "I guess it doesn't always go well for a first timer?", chuckled Nora. She handed the lit smoke to Bev. No use in wasting it.

"You get used to it quick. Trust me", said Beverly taking a puff herself. How did she make it look so easy?

"Yeah. Maybe I could come over to your house sometime so you could teach me", said Nora.

"No!", yelled Beverly a little too loudly. Regaining herself, she took another puff. "It's just my dad hates having a lot of people in the house..."

"Okay, sure", said Nora. "How about anywhere else?"

"Sounds good", said Beverly smiling.

"And this is really late to answer your question but that book I was reading? It's called Stranger Things. It's SO good, Marsh! I could lend it to you."

"Sure. Never heard of it before."

"No spoilers but I think you'll like it, it's addicting as fuck."

* * *

The girls caught up with the guys who were standing in an alleyway going down Main Street. The bikes settling in a bike rack a few feet away. As they approached they spotted Richie harassing a member of the school band that lost his spot in the parade because the Tozier boy stole his instrument and was blowing in it as hard as he could only to have it pulled out of his grasp.

"What the fuck, dude?", yelled Richie.

Nora looked at Bev and the girls broke into another laughing fit. "What are you doing Richard? Working on your technique on perfecting the blowjob?"

"Shut your damn mouth!", said Richie as Eddie handed him an ice cream cone.

"What are you guys looking at?", asked Beverly, putting the cigarette out on the ground.

It was a missing kid poster over another. Did they really have to do that? Why put them over each other? Talk about disrespectful.

Yet there was black and white Ed Corcoran's face smiling back at the kids.

"They said they found part of his hand all chewed up near the standpipe. He asked to borrow a pencil once", said Ben solemnly.

Bill ignored him as he looked at the missing kid poster under Ed's. It was Betty Ripsom's. "It's like she's been f-f-f-forgotten because Corcoran's missing."

"Is it ever gonna end?", asked Stan. The group knew he wasn't too fond of this subject. It was rare that he wanted to contribute to the conversation.

"I actually think it will end, for a little while at least", said Ben.

"What do you mean?", asked Bev.

Ben seemed uneasy now that all their attention was on him, but he wouldn't let that stop him. They were his friends after all. "So I was going over all of my research and I charted out all of the big events. The Ironworks explosion in 1908. The Bradley Gang in '35 and The Black Spot in '62. And now kids being...", he paused. "I realized that this stuff seems to happen-"

"Every 27 years", interrupted Bill.

"Are you sure it's not just some crazy asshole?", asked Nora.

"No. It c-can't be just a m-m-man. It has t-to be something else. We all saw something. Whatever it is caused all that blood to drench Beverly's bathroom", said Bill to Nora.

"What?", asked Nora and Mike simultaneously.

* * *

One by one the kids explained all the weird things they saw whenever they were alone to Mike and Nora as they made their way to the local park that was hosting a talent show. Kids ran around screaming out of joy and exploding firecrackers, the few barbecues that were the cause of all the smoke blowing into the air. The gang sat in the middle of the park next to a large Paul Bunyan statue.

From what she had heard, Nora assumed what she had seen in the woods was the same thing that her friends had encountered. But how? How and why?

They all sat in a circle on the few benches that were there. Bill was next to Eddie. Richie was being a smartass and sat on the water fountain. Nora sat in between Bev and Stan while Mike was next to Ben.

All were in agreement that the thing wasn't exactly a thing at all. It was an IT.

"Ok so let me get this straight", said Stan. "IT comes out from wherever to eat kids for like a year and then what? IT just goes into hibernation?", he said confused. But then again, how could any of them understand what they were up against. Could IT be the reason behind all the missing kids? "Maybe it's like... What do you call it? Cicadas", continued Stan. "You know, the bugs that come out once every 17 years."

"You would know that, Stanny", joked Richie.

" _Beep beep_ ", said Eddie through grit teeth.

Mike shook his head. "My grandfather thinks this town is cursed. He says that all the bad things that happened in this town are because of one thing. An evil thing that feeds off the people of Derry."

"IT", said Ben. Mike nodded.

"But it can't be one thing. We all saw something different", contemplated Stan, trying to be logical.

"Maybe. Or maybe IT knows what scares us most and that's what we see", said Mike.

"I, I saw a leper", confided Eddie. "He was like a walking infection." He shuddered.

Stan sighed. "But you didn't. Because IT isn't real. None of this is", he said abrasively. "Not Eddie's leper or Bill seeing Georgie or the woman I keep seeing."

Richie snickered. "Is she hot?"

"No, Richie. She's not hot", yelled Stan, getting angrier. "Her face is all messed up", he said as his voice cracked.

Nora grabbed his hand and held it firmly. He was relieved of his anger almost immediately as his eyes softened at the sight of her hand over his. "None of this makes any sense. They're all like bad dreams", he said.

"I don't think so, I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?", said Mike seriously.

"What did you see? You saw something too?", asked Eddie.

"Yes", said Mike hesitating. "You guys know that burnt down house on Harris Avenue?"

Nobody spoke but listened wholeheartedly.

"I was inside when it burned down. Before I was rescued...my mom and dad were trapped in the next room over from me. They were pushing and pounding on the door trying to get to me. But it was too hot. When firefighters found them the skin on their hands melted down to the bone", he finished. His eyes not concentrating on anything, but lost in some type of void unable to get out.

Ben rested a hand on Mike's shoulder. That broke him out of his fog but only just.

"I saw something, too", said Nora. She was confident enough to talk about it now. "Remember when you guys found me in the woods the other day? When you found Ben?", she started. Her eyes glued to a pile of dirt. "I saw this decaying thing, you could say a zombie. But it, it was gray and its mouth was bloody and the teeth were rotting and falling out. It chased me but I ran. It was like that zombie I saw in a movie when I was little. I hated that thing...", she couldn't talk anymore. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt her face reddening from embarrassment. She relaxed once Stan let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, engulfing her in a tight side hug. Nora turned her head so that they were looking at each other, close enough to be able to count every freckle on his cheeks if she so wanted. She was grateful for what he had just done. He stared straight into her eyes yet stole a moment to glance at her lips. Stan thought about kissing her, but this wasn't the right time. They gently rested their foreheads against one another.

"We're all afraid of something", said Mike.

"Got that right", said Richie as he turned around and saw a man in a generic costume staring at him from up on the stage.

"Why Rich? What are you afraid of?", asked Eddie.

"Clowns."

"T-takes one to sc-sc-scare one", stuttered Bill.


	13. Pennywise

AN - I hope you all enjoy this and have a great day!

Also I know Georgie was supposed to be what? 5? 6? In the book, but I used the actor's age, just so you know! And tell me your favorite ship in this fic or just your OTP from IT in general!

I repeat, enjoy!

* * *

Bill suggested they go to his house so they could pinpoint exactly where they should make their next move in order to find out where IT's possible hideout could be. He figured it had to be hiding somewhere private. That had to be right or else everyone in Derry would report seeing a buck toothed clown scaring the shit out of their kids. If this thing was the cause of all the disappearances, then those kids wouldn't still be alive to tell anyone.

With the exception of Richie, the other kids have seen the most abnormal spectacles one could imagine.

As they rode their bikes towards the Denbrough household, all they could think of was that if they did find where IT lived, what on Earth could they do to stop it from killing again? They were nobodies Who was going to believe them?

Even if there was a snowballs chance in Hell they could track it, there was still little hope for success. This was a suicide mission.

Halting to a stop and dumping the bikes on the side of the road, everyone followed Bill through his front door; it was a pretty cool place. Compared to Ben's or Beverly's houses, the Denbrough's could have passed it off as being rich. Bit of an exaggeration but only if you had lived in a complete shithole, you'd understand why being inside a nice one made you feel like scum.

Bill had gone into his father's study leaving them to wait inside the living room. Richie had taken the liberty of stretching his whole body on the couch, yawning as he rested both arms behind his head.

Unzipping his fanny pack, Eddie took a quick puff from his inhaler and put it away. He realized it has been a while since he used it last. Maybe he was getting better. Before he could double check the amount of pills he was carrying, someone kicked his ankle. "What the fu-", he whispered as he glared at Stan. But shut up once he realized why he had been kicked. Mike was staring at the picture of a little boy who nearly resembled Bill that rested on the mantle in the very middle. "That was Georgie", whispered Eddie yet again. He didn't want Bill to hear.

"How old was he?", whispered Ben.

Richie became solemn which was rare for him. "Nine", he answered without opening his eyes.

Brief silence.

Beverly went beside Mike to admire the same picture. "I've only seen him once. He was trick or treating."

"Are we being fair to Bill?", asked Nora as she bit her lip. "We shouldn't keep feeding his obsession. It's not healthy."

"Do you have siblings?", asked Bill, a long rolled up piece of paper in his hand and a photo projector in the other. His friends turned to look at him. None of them heard him come in.

His hardened expression dug into Nora like a nail. She narrowed her eyes. "No, I don't", she said saddened that he heard her. "But I have that bum", she said pointing to Richie.

"You love me", he responded as he smiled showing all his teeth.

Bill nodded for them to follow him outside. They followed suit to the garage. "My dad hates it when I borrow his stuff if he finds out I did, he'll burst a lung. One of you help me", he said motioning to the garage door. Mike lifted it up high enough for everyone to get inside then proceeded to shut it. Unrolling the parchment, Bill handed the other edge to Stan so they could pin the oversized map of Derry up on the wall. Nora made sure it was dark as Ben and Mike set up the projector so it was facing the map.

Once everything was set up and the kids took a seat, Bill turned it on and placed a small slide into the slot that shone against the map perfectly. There were red lines going up and down what appeared to be the streets of Derry. "Okay, look", said Bill. "That storm drain. That's where Georgie disappeared." Half the kids still weren't sure what exactly happened to his little brother that day. But they remained quiet. "There's the Ironworks and the Black Spot. Everywhere IT happens i-it's all connected by the sewers and they all meet up at the-"

"The well-house", said Ben.

"That's the house on Neibolt Street", said Stan as he fidgeted on the broken stool he was sitting on.

Richie looked at Bill. "You mean the creepy ass house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep?"

"I _hate_ that place. Always feels like it's watching me", said Bev. She did her best to avoid that old house at all cost.

"That's where I saw IT. That's where I saw the clown", gasped Eddie as he scrambled for his inhaler. "It tried to chase me inside but I got out the backyard", he breathed taking more than one spritz, ignoring Richie's suggestions to calm the fuck down.

Stan laid a hand on Nora's shoulder as she sat on the floor next to him, resting her head on his hip and wrapping her arm around his leg. "I remember when I first got to Derry. I was lost walking home and I saw that place. Looks like the Addams family mansion if they blew it up."

"T-t-that's where IT lives", said Bill convinced he was right.

"I can't imagine anything ever wanting to live there", said Stan.

"I don't get it", said Mike slowly as he thought about how crazy this all was while trying to make piece by piece fit. "Why would someone rebuild a house over the well. Who would do that?"

"They probably just wanted it for their own personal giant toilet. That's what that dump smells like", joked Richie. "Am I wrong?"

Eddie took another spritz before jumping up causing a bucket to fall over. He started breathing uncontrollably, pacing back and forth. "Can we stop talking about this? I can barely breathe. It's summer! We're kids! I can barely breathe, I'm having a fucking asthma attack!"

"Relax-"

"Eddie, calm d-"

"Just-"

Nobody could blame him for being scared as they tried to make him shut up.

"I'm not doing this!", exclaimed Eddie as he ripped the map off the wall.

Bill stood up outraged. "What the Hell! Put the map back!"

The germophobe shook his head, holding his inhaler in front of him like a shield.

Suddenly, the projector started flipping the slides on its own until every photo was streaming on a continuous loop. Each photo transitioned into another; Mr. Denbrough, a young man and woman, father and son at a baseball game, the four Denbroughs, Bill and Georgie in a canoe, the family at some park called Acadia, and the final picture that was on more than one slide was Bill and Georgie holding their parents hands.

"What's happening?"

"What's going on?"

"Guys..."

Everyone was mesmerized by different things. Beverly was trying to figure out how to turn the machine off, the guys confused as to what was happening in general and Nora was fascinated by how the projector was moving by itself. She had read about this type of phenomenon like in her favorite book. _Telekinesis_...

"Georgie...", muttered Bill.

All of their attention went back to the photos. One by one the slides slowly came into focus on Bill's mom and how the wind was blowing in her hair. But as it changed so did her face. Instead of Mrs. Denbrough's face it was a clown, face painted and all smiling devilishly at the kids as though it could see them right now.

Every chair and box they had been sitting on was knocked over as the kids backed as far as they could away from the wall. Looks of horror etched on their faces. Their actions caused some to trip and fall over whilst others grabbed onto each other.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"It's IT!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!", yelled Richie.

"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!", yelled Eddie.

Nora froze in place. She hadn't moved until Stan grabbed both of her arms and pushed her behind him. He stepped forward a bit so that he was the closest.

Beverly's mouth shot open. "Turn it off! Turn it off!"

It was Mike that kicked the projector off the stool and onto the ground. There was nothing but darkness for a few minutes. Just then as though it didn't even budge, the projector came back to life flashing on and off. Eddie wasn't prone to seizures was he? IT was there again, this time it vanished. They expected it was over.

Boom! There in the room with them as though it was coming out of the wall, was a huge, nearly inflated Pennywise the Dancing Clown, with its sharp teeth and wild eyes focused on Stan.

"Run, Stanley!"

Quick as she could, Nora grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him into the corner with the others just as IT stretched out of the wall and crawled closer and closer towards the kids. Between the sounds of IT's menacing roars and screaming, nobody noticed Ben running as fast as he could at the door and opening it just before Pennywise ever laid its giant clawed hand on Beverly.

As soon as the sunlight filled the garage, the silence returned.

IT was gone yet the mess remained. Would anybody believe what just happened? The kids looked around outside. There weren't any neighbors running from the streets as though there hadn't been any commotion at all.

What happened was real, no one was denying that.

A still shaken Beverly placed her hands over her heart as she rejoined the group. "Thanks, Ben", she said before she went over to Bill and hugged him.

"IT saw us! IT saw us and it knows where we are", replied Eddie who still had hold of his inhaler.

Bill glared. "IT always knew", he said exiting the garage. "Alright, let's go."

"Go? Go where?", asked Ben.

"Neibolt. That's where G-g-g-Georgie is", said Bill full of determination.

"After _that_?", said an exasperated Stan.

"Bill, did you not just see what happened? It nearly killed us", said Nora.

"Yeah, it's summer, we should be outside...", said Eddie.

Bill finally snapped. "If you say it's summer one more f-f-f-fucking time!" He'd had enough. Without another word Bill had gone over to his bike and took off down his driveway and turned the corner.

"Bill? Wait!", attempted Beverly. But he was gone. "Come on! We have to go after him", she instructed the others.

They didn't have to be told twice.

"Hold on!", said Nora, heading back in the garage.

"What?", asked Richie.

Nora grabbed the map and started to roll it back up. "We can't have Bill getting murdered twice. Come help me."

Eddie, Beverly and Stan ran back and began to pick up the slides, the projector and set everything back in place including putting all the materials back in Mr. Denbrough's study.

Hopping on their bikes, the kids headed to the next destination they were sure Bill had gone to.

* * *

A few blocks later the Neibolt house was in plain sight; it and all its burnt, creepy, glory. The kids stopped dab in front of the house and rushed after the skinny boy heading to the front door.

"Bill! Bill, you can't go in there. This is crazy", said Beverly as she and the losers flooded the front lawn. Bill turned towards them from on the porch.

You wouldn't believe it considering he was a beanpole, but he was definitely the leader type in this moment.

"Look, you don't have to come in with me, but what happens when another Georgie goes missing, or another Betty or another Ed Corcoran or one of _us_?", he stared, satisfied once he saw he had their undivided attention. He had to make them realize how important this was to him. "Are you just going to pretend it isn't happen like everyone else in this town? Because I can't." He started tearing up. "I go home and all I see is that Georgie isn't there, his clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals, but he isn't. So walking into this house for me...it's easier than walking into my own", finished Bill, walking towards the door.

The kids looked at each other as though silently agreeing and disagreeing.

"Wow."

"What?", asked Eddie.

"He didn't stutter once", said Richie.

Most of them started to follow Bill. Some remained still.

"Wait!", said Stan after he watched Nora approach the steps. "Uhhh, shouldn't we have some people keep watch, just in case something bad happens?"

Bill rolled his eyes. "Wh-wh-wh-who wants to stay out here?"

Simultaneously, every hand except for Beverly's and Nora's shot up.

"Fuck", muttered Richie since he took into account that if somebody had to go, it should be him. He grabbed an annoyed Eddie by his arm and dragged him with as the two joined Bill.

"Richie!", yelled Nora taking a step forward. "Be careful!"

"Yeah, don't worry, Nor. I will", he nodded, confused and grateful in that moment. That was the first time she had ever called him by his nickname. He smiled at her. She smiled back.

With one turn of the doorknob and a push of the door, the boys entered the house.


	14. Hour of Horror

**AN** \- I hope you're all having a great summer! And honestly between watching IT and reading all of your reviews, which I am grateful for, thank you sagawinchester! And spending the majority of my summer vacation outside, swimming and enjoying what I can, gives me motivation to keep writing this fic.

* * *

Out on the lawn, the remaining members of the club each held their breath as they watched the door close. How could they let their friends go alone? Granted if all of them went inside, there was no telling what would happen or who they would lose track of if things went out of control. God knew what was going to happen next and it might have been safer to leave it in his hands.

"They'll be fine", said Beverly as she tried to sound sure of herself. The look on her face said different. She had a tight hold of the key that was on a chain around her neck, her eyes glued to the door. Ben stood beside her as means of providing as much much comfort as he could give her in that moment.

Behind them, the other three stood. All were silent before the sound of somebody sniffling broke them out of their trances.

Stan had his arms folded in front of him. He shook not taking his eyes off of his shoes, whispering for only those closest to him to hear. "I-I can't go in that house. I can't", he softly said. Few tears filled his eyes.

None of them had ever seen him cry. He never had a reason to. Or he never had a reason to in front of someone. His father's voice rang in his ears, imagining what would be said if he saw his son right now. " _Men don't cry. That's a sign of weakness, Stanley_."

"Stan-", said Nora. She couldn't say anything else, Hell, she didn't know what to say. Instead, her arms around him in a warm hug was better than words any day. Not wanting to ruin anything, Mike stood next to them, equally unsure of what could be said to bring logic and reason into all of this. "Hey", said Nora, backing away slightly whilst keeping her hands on his forearms. "One of these days we should go birdwatching. You could show me the best places to spot them up close."

Stan stared at her in awe; new realization dawning on his face. He'd never actually talked to her about that. It was true. But that didn't mean she hadn't overheard him in the years when they had simply known each other as those two people who knew Richie and nothing else. His eyes fixated on hers, tearing up for another reason. Yes, he had informed his friends that spending his time outside documenting and keeping track of every species of bird he could find fascinated him. They never took interest in wanting to make an afternoon of doing just that. Yes, he made it clear to his father but it was simply brushed off as a useless hobby. But now here was someone who gave a damn about what he liked and offered a chance to partake in it. Stan absentmindedly smiled. The fact that as of right now there was IT in the midst left his mind completely and went back to what he had used to call normal, just barely.

He took a step closer to her. "I'd like that", he whispered, noticing a few dark wisps of hair that fell from behind her ear. Bringing his hand up to gently push the strands back, he let the tips of his fingers caress her cheek, happy that Nora was allowing him to do so before he returned his hand back into his pocket. Both of them smiled. Under any other circumstances this moment would have been blissful. It still was but not as appropriately timed. Four brown eyes met and locked onto each other as the two of them slowly moved their heads together not caring who was watching. Just as their noses touched...

 _CRASH_!

* * *

Inside the house, Bill, Eddie, and Richie had been separated.

With two of them having been locked in a room, Eddie was alone as he tried to run. Before he could take another step, the floor began to decay and fall below until a giant hole had made it impossible for him to jump over. "What the fuck?!"

He suddenly felt a cold and clammy hand on his shoulder, turning him around. As he looked up into the face of the leper, Eddie's vision blurred as the creature opened its mouth to show him a red foaming pill as a river of drool cascaded down the front of him.

Eddie succumbed to fainting, falling backwards through the hole.

 _Time to float_...

* * *

In the locked room upstairs, Bill and Richie didn't have much luck as they attempted to choose between three doors. They were marked: _not scary at all, scary, very scary_.

Choosing the latter, the boys ran to the one leaking the least amount of blood on the left. Swiftly opening it, nothing could be seen due to the darkness. The subtle sound of rusty chains could be heard along with a young girl's desperate plea. " _Where's my shoe_?"

Bill turned on the lightswitch to reveal the torso of a bleeding Betty Ripsom. Her arms outstretched upwards as she hung in chains that were attached to the ceiling. The entire part of her lower body was missing as though it had been massacred. Her ear piercing scream nearly drowned out Richie's.

* * *

Backing away from each other, Stan and Nora joined the others once they realized that loud crash came from inside the house and a few screams were heard.

"What the Hell?", asked Nora.

"Bill! Richie!"

The five of them ran onto the porch. Mike yanked on the knob but it was as though it was bolted shut even though it had been opened not even ten minutes ago.

"Open it!", yelled Beverly. "We never should have let them go in alone! Open it!"

"It's locked!", yelled Mike as he tried to bust it down.

"What do you mean?", asked Ben.

Nora threw her arms up in frustration. "Do you need a Q-tip? He said it's locked!" She looked around the yard for anything useful. There was broken glass, a deflated basketball and a steel spike! She ran as fast as she could to pick up the spike from across the yard. Running back toward her friends, she pointed it towards the sky. "Marsh!", she yelled, getting Bev's attention. Throwing it at the redhead who caught it, Nora reminded herself to admire Beverly later. Her cousin was in trouble.

Sticking the spike in between the doors, Beverly managed to maneuver it perfectly so she could pry it open with one move. She was successful. The door swung open.

Running inside, was a blur as the dust flew everywhere. Screams and that terrifying roar could be heard. The sound of something being driven into caused a shriek.

Once everyone gathered into the room, all anyone could stare at was the familiar demon whose face looked unbelievably distorted considering the spike that was driven under his eye and down its throat. IT still smiled and laughed at the kids, sending shivers down their spines. This thing was no man...

As IT staggered about the room, they all backed away. Its hands transitioning from fingers into claws. Richie, Bill, and Beverly sprinted to Eddie who sat clutching his arm, screaming his head off. He was alive at least...

With another shriek, IT swung its ugly head to look at the ones near the front door, causing the spike to mercilessly slash Ben in the stomach, blood splattering onto the floor in the process. As he fell back, gasping for air, Mike had caught him in the nick of time.

"Ben!"

Nothing else was said, and nobody was sure if just one heard it, but each kid could hear what they suspected was IT talking to them privately. The whisper rang loudly in their ears. "Tasty, tasty, beautiful fear!"

Before anyone could react to what IT was about to do next, they were shocked and relieved to see it slinking out of the room and into the darkness. Was it going to trick them into a false sense of security before killing them?

Nobody moved, out of fear it would pounce on them any moment. That horrible face flooded their minds...

"Don't let it get away!", yelled Bill chasing after it. He ran down the same hall IT had chosen to take refuge.

"BILL!"

"DON'T BILL!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! COME BACK!"

"ED? ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"FUCK!"

Richie shook a screaming Eddie to get his attention on him. Eddie's right arm appeared to have snapped. While some were yelling they had to get it and go for help, Bill had returned and knelt next to Eddie as he continued to clutch his arm for dear life.

"Eddie, look at me!", yelled Richie, grabbing his closest friend by the face.

"No! Nooooo, Nooooo!"

"Shut up! I have to snap your arm in place!", explained Richie. "I have to!"

"Do not fucking touch me!", screeched Eddie as he gave his bespectacled friend a look that would kill if only they could.

Richie ignored the pleas of everyone else demanding he wait until they reached a hospital. He grabbed the broken arm. "I'm sorry, Ed. One, two, three!"

There was another loud, disturbing crack.

Eddie went wide eyed with unbearable pain, unable to scream anymore.

"Mike! Pick him up!", ordered Bill.

Mike ran over and leaning over, he did his best to carry the smaller boy in his arms until they ran outside and reached the bikes, placing him in the basket he used to make his deliveries.

"I'll ride his bike!", said Nora. She did her best to steady herself. It was quite small.

They were off.

* * *

After they reached the Kaspbrak residence, they kind of expected her reaction to be...unreasonable...

"You! You did this!", exclaimed Mrs. Kaspbrak, her hair in a bun looking as though it hadn't been brushed, as she dragged a wincing Eddie to her car and put him inside. He dared not look at anyone. "You know how delicate he is."

"He's stronger than you think", muttered Nora under her breath.

Bill cautiously approached the agitated mother. "We were attacked, Mrs. K-"

"No, don't, don't try to blame anyone else...", she muttered, trying to collect herself, dropping her keys in the process.

Bev stooped down to assist but was swatted at. "Get back!", said Mrs. Kaspbrak. Once she saw who the girl was, a nasty look in her eyes almost as ugly as her smile, made her relish this opportunity. "Oh, I've heard of you Miss Marsh. And I don't want a dirty girl like _you_ touching my son."

Ben stepped forward, fists clenched. Richie held him back.

"Ms. K, I-"

"No, you are all monsters, all of you! Eddie's done with you. You hear, done!", she huffed as she somehow stuffed her ass into the car. It took a minute for it to start but once the engine roared, she made a U-Turn and quickly floored it down the street and out of sight, leaving the kids to inhale the fumes. Maybe if they all had been high an hour ago they could have convinced themselves what they'd seen wasn't real.

"I saw the well", said Bill. How could he be so positive? "W-w-w-w-we know where it is and next time we'll be better prepared."

"NO!", snapped Stan, his voice shaking. At least one of them had the courage to say something to their leader. "No next time, Bill. You're insane!"

Beverly was disgusted. "Why? We all know nobody else is going to do anything." God, she was as stubborn as Bill.

"Eddie was nearly killed! And look at this motherfucker", yelled Richie as he gestured to an injured Ben Hanscom. "He's leaking hamburger helper!"

"We can't pretend it's going to go away. Ben, you said yourself it comes back every 27 years", Bev reminded them.

Nora finally let that sink in. 27 years. Was it possible? It had to be. It all made sense. The one thing in her life that she was sure of was correct.

"Fine! I'll be 40 and far away from here", said Ben, causing Nora to come out of her heartbreaking mindset. "I thought you said you wanted to get out of this town, too", he said, grasping at straws.

"Because I want to run towards something, not away", said Bev.

"I'm sorry but who invited Molly Ringwald into the group?", said Richie. Bev whipped him her middle finger. "I'm just saying, let's face facts! Real world!", he announced, turning to Bill. "Georgie is dead, stop trying to get us killed too!"

Bill looked outraged. He was never going to let go was he? "Georgie's not dead!", he yelled getting closer to Richie.

"You couldn't save him but you could still save yourself", protested Richie. He was shoved a bit by Bill.

"No! T-t-t-take it back! You're scared and we all are but take it back", he yelled as he shoved Richie again.

"Don't touch him!", scolded Nora, coming to her cousin's defense.

"Shut up!", pleaded Bill, rounding on her.

Stan stepped forward. "Don't talk to her like that."

Richie proceeded to push Bill until the two of them started to go off against each other which ended with one of them getting punched in the face.

As the others did their best to hold back the boys, it was hard to believe that any of them would fight each other.

"You're such a loser! Fuck off! You're a bunch of losers, you're gonna get yourself killed trying to catch a stupid clown!", yelled Richie.

Mike and Stan held him back as Beverly got in between them. "Stop!", she shrieked as everyone tried catch their breath and calm down. "This is what IT wants, IT wants to divide us. We were all together, when we heard it. That's why we're still alive! Why can't you see that?"

"Yeah, well I plan to keep it that way", said Richie as he shoved Bill aside, retreating to his bike.

One by one the friends did the same as they followed the Tozier boy leaving Bill and Bev by themselves. Neither one knew just how long they would need to talk to their friends again. They couldn't stay mad at them forever. But now wasn't the time to try and convince them to follow IT down into the well, either.

All they could do was wait. Attempted murder was enough for one day.

* * *

Instead of going back to his house or dropping her off at the Tozier's, Nora suggested they go to the Quarry, where they had recently jumped off of on their last day of school to escape the heat of summer.

The sun was setting and what perfect way to spend the rest of the day than by possibly taking a dip?

Parking his bike, Stan kicked the peg down and they got off. He was still fuming and the expression on his face made it pretty clear. He followed Nora to the peak and sat down next to each her, allowing their legs to hang over the edge.

They sat in silence, listening to the water ripple from below, the trees swaying in the wind, and the birds chirping. As close as they were, it was the uncomfortable silence that made it slightly awkward.

"Are we really not going to talk about what happened?", asked Nora as she looked at him.

His eyes remained focused on the pebbles he was tossing over the edge. "I'd rather not. Right now...I'd rather just have peace and quiet", he said stubbornly.

Nora chuckled. "That's shit. Because you're one of my favorite people to talk to...", she said smiling as she grasped his hand in her own and rested her head on his shoulder.

He felt himself smile.

To Nora, that was the view that was the most priceless.

* * *

 **AN** \- Don't worry, this last scene will continue into the next chapter!


	15. Bliss

Any other time, this would have been considered great. But everything the others said got Nora thinking again. About the one thing she was certain of her whole life. Now she knew it had to be true. Let's just say it didn't come as quite a shock to her, she always knew. She lifted her head off Stan's shoulder and crossed her arms over her knees.

"I'm sorry, I have to talk about this."

Stan groaned. "I already said I don-"

"It's important to me", she said glaring at him. The frustration in her face was clear.

He stared at her. "Okay. What is it?"

"Remember what Ben said about IT? How it comes back every 27 years? It must be what's been happening to the missing kids around here, Betty, Ed Corcoran, Georgie", she paused once she saw him shudder. Nora placed a hand on his knee. "My parents. My parents hate me. They always have."

He was confused. "What does that have to do-"

"Don't you think it's funny out of all the times they could have sent me away it's to the place that becomes Hell on Earth for kids? The same exact time that monster wakes up?", she said as her voice became shaky. There was no stopping the tears from filling her eyes. "Those bastards sent me here to die." She let out a sob.

"You can't know for sure."

"I'm positive, Stan." She sniffed as she wiped her tears away. "I'm such an idiot crying over this. This doesn't surprise me. We were never close as a family. That's why I planned on running away for so long. I still do. After this summer, I... I plan on getting on a bus and getting the Hell away from here."

The sun had set. It was hard to tell but from the limited moonlight shining on Stan's face, Nora could tell he was biting his lip. "And go where?"

"Anywhere but fucking Maine. Somewhere nice."

"I told you I didn't want to talk about any of this", he said, sounding annoyed. He stood up.

Nora remained seated as she stared up at him. "Stan-"

There was a slight breeze coming down through the trees and here was this boy taking off his shirt.

Nora stood, facing him. She couldn't help but smile. Stan was such a beanpole. "It's getting cold. What are you doing?" She couldn't help but smile. Happy to see his smile come back as well. The most priceless thing in the world to her right now was standing in front of her.

"Are you going to jump first or am I going have to push you?", he asked playfully, pointing to the water below.

Snickering, Nora decided she didn't have anything she wanted to hide from him. She might not have the body she wanted, but who cares? Once she popped out a few kids someday, then maybe she'd have bigger breasts. Taking off her shirt to reveal her bra, it didn't faze Nora after she saw Stan stare at her for a moment before turning towards the edge. Grabbing his hand, the two of them counted to three and took the free fall into the freezing water.

Nora submerged first gasping for air, laughing from the rush of adrenaline she had to start getting used to. It took her a moment and swam out a few inches until she realized she was the only one who reached the surface. "Stan?"

Nothing.

"Stanley?!", she shouted, looking wildly.

Two hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her down into the water. They felt familiar so she didn't panic. Instead she grabbed his and shoved him further down.

Both Stan and Nora resurfaced immediately and couldn't hide the smiles on their faces as they splashed each other. Was this how nearly 14 year olds behaved? Attempting to splash the other like 6 year olds would do? It didn't matter. Would it have been great if their friends were there and not mad at each other in this dumb fight? Yes. Was the fight undeniably in the wrong? No.

As soon as Stan could get close enough after braving the large amounts of water being thrown at him, he was able to grab Nora by her wrist and watch while she tossed her tangled hair out of her face. Even though seeing her without a shirt on was pleasantly amazing, he couldn't stop staring at her eyes as he drew closer.

Both of them had hardened expressions once they got close enough to one another. He still held onto her wrist.

Nora questioned just how was it that they were both floating but she still had to stare up at him. He was just that tall. She bit her lip, unfazed by the fact his face was inches from hers, she could see his breath escaping his mouth it was so cold. He was shivering. "Freezing?", she whispered.

He shrugged.

Nora smirked. She brought her other hand up and tried to move his curled bangs out of the way. Figuring it was best to make sure she didn't miss, she kept her eyes open as she pressed her lips against his. It lasted about five seconds until he wrapped his arms around her waist and she rested her arms around his shoulders, tangling her hands in his hair.

Why did most people making kissing look like they were trying to eat each other's faces off?

This was nothing like that. Granted neither had much experience with it. But it was bliss nonetheless.

After a few minutes, they decided it best to get out before they got hypothermia. Making it back to the top of the cliff, they both put their shirts back on as they shivered.

Stan grabbed her hand. "You can still come to my Bar Mitzvah if you want. I'm not just saying that to be the bigger person."

"Are you sure we're not going to see a priest cut your dick off?"

"No, I promise."

"Sounds bitchin."

He leaned in and kissed her again.


End file.
